Love battles on the floor again
by kattx
Summary: the hams are on the floor again. The final chapters are now being loaded, just put in the last story chapter, read and review everyone.
1. back on the floor

Something for my peeps: Okay peeps, here's the lowdown; my computer had many a problem so I've been out of commission for way too loooooooooooooooooong, but things are going smooth for now. Second, after debating with myself whether or not to write this, I've decided to do so. In addition to this, I read over all the reviews of Love battles on the floor, so this time around, I'll try to make things more interesting (or at least hope to) the second time around. And to those who said that I was a n00b, that is one thing I am not, and to those who are new to reading this sort of thing, please read the prequel to get a better feel of where this story is heading. Once again, a big thank-q to all those who enjoyed the prequel, 'cause this sequel is just for you. Now it's time for the show.  
  
!^_^ Oops one last thing; any new hams (or current hams) that come into play here, will be given credit for their creators.  
  
It was a nice day today, not a cloud in the sky and the weather was perfect. And at the clubhouse, the hams were having competitions on the floor.  
  
LOVE BATTLES on the Floor... AGAIN  
  
"Come on, keep up with me, Sandy, don't slack up now." said Pashmina.  
"You totally picked a fast song for me." said Sandy who was frantically trying to keep her guage filled.  
  
On the sidelines, the guys were watching the girls go at it. "That's my precious." said Dexter.  
"You're quite cocky." said Maxwell.  
"I like this song, it's got a nice beat to it." said Boss.  
"I never knew someone could like pizza this much though. !^_^ " said Hamtaro.  
"Sacré bleu, zat ees way too fast." said Bijou.  
"Not as fast as what you put me through." said Boss and Hamtaro. These two bulls still remember the pain of battling for Bijou's love.  
"You are men, you can handle eet." said Bijou.  
"I would never do that to you, Bijou." said Hamtaro.  
"I had to test vous and you passed with shining colors. Besides, you didn't want me to end up weeth Boss, non?"  
"..............Um..."  
  
BLAM!  
"You lose Pashmina, I'm the winner." said Sandy.  
"You just got lucky." said Pashmina. "No matter, it's just a game."  
"Nice comeback sis, lovely as ever." congratulated Stan.  
"Thanks, bro." said Sandy.  
"Anyway, I was wondering about something."  
"Really, what?" everyone asked.  
"....Our 'Cupid' who set every couple up. I wonder where he is..."  
"Don't worry about it, Stan. We'll see him again." said Hamtaro.  
"I guess so. Well, clear the floor, I'm going solo."  
  
What the hams didn't know was that they were being watched. this pair of eyes continued to gaze on the hams as they went on obivious to everything. "So, they do this sort of thing too? Well then, it's time to put things into effect."  
  
Who is this mystery ham? You'll find out next chapter. 


	2. what the watcher brings

Boy, I got of hits off the first chap of this one. Look like me opening story is going to have a very interesting sequel. Well, thanks to you guys and on with the show.  
  
The hams all cleared the floor as Stan stepped up and went solo. he had the whole floor, so there was lots to work on. As he got down on the floor, the other hams just watched. "I'll say this for Stan, he can really get down for himself." said Pashmina.  
"Yeah, when he's not acting like a flirt anyways." said Sandy.  
"Oh well, he can't have me, he lost that chance."  
"Yeah, like that'll stop him."  
"How can you shadow someone on the whole floor, Panda?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Just move accordingly, it's not that hard." Panda answered.  
That's Panda for ya', thought Hamtaro. He would know, he made this machine from scratch.... with a little help of course.  
"Stan looks pretty determined." said Boss.  
"He just wants that S rank." said Howdy. "Some people just aren't happy with an A."  
"Some people are just good."  
  
Stan stepped off of the floor, taking a B on the last song, which ended his routine. "Ah, there's nothing like a good dance." he said.  
"That was cool, nice moving you had there, Stan." said Panda.  
"Yes, not bad. Needs a bit more improvement, but not bad nonetheless."  
  
All the hams looked around, trying to find out where that outburst came from. "Tough talker, why don't you show yourself?" Stan called out.  
"Fine, I will." the voice calls again. Then all of a sudden, there was a rustling, then out came.....  
"Sparkle?" everyone gasped.  
"Yeah, it's Sparkle." the uppity star ham answered. "Were you expecting the Easter Chicken?"  
"Actually, we were expecting one of our friends." said Dexter.  
"Ha, ha, ha, let's all make fun of Sparkle."  
"Do you really want us to do that?" asked Hamtaro.  
"You dingbat, it was a figure of-"  
SLAP! "You watch your mouth!" Bijou yelled.  
That slap looked painful, that probably did hurt Sparkle. thought Hamtaro.  
"You lousy french-"  
Stan cut in here. "Okay, break it up, girls." he said. He then turned to Sparkle. "So you liked my floor action, huh?"  
"It was o.k., not too impressive." Sparkle answered.  
"And you can do better?" asked Stan.  
"Ppppt, of course I can."  
"Then prove it to me, now."  
"Fine, but when I beat you, you have to kiss my feet and call me the Dance Floor Queen."  
"Fine, but when you lose, you have to go out on a date with me and LIKE IT!"  
"You're on, let's battle."  
  
Stan and Sparkle step onto the floor and get ready for the first routine. "I hope you're ready to lose." said Sparkle.  
"I'm just thinking about something." said Stan.  
"What, how to address me royally?"  
"No, where we're going on our date."  
  
Sparkle picked the first song, Brilliant 2 U and the hams customized their settings: Speed x2, freeze off, "middle road" difficulty. The other hams watched as the stage began. Let's see the styyle Sparkle uses on the floor... thought Boss.  
This should be interesting. thought Sandy.  
I sure hope Stan wins. thought Pashmina.  
"Boy, this is a little tough to keep up with." said Stan.  
"It's only on two speed, stop whining." said Sparkle.  
"I normally play one and a half speed, so shaddup."  
Slow poke, you'll never get better than me that way. thought Sparkle.  
  
This stage went on very nicely and soon it was over. Stan got a B, but Sparkle, an A. "I pick the next song." said Sparkle.  
"You picked the last one." said Stan, "I get to pick this one."  
"Well I got the better grade, so it's still my pick."  
"She's got you there, Stan." said Panda.  
"Finally, someone understands me."  
"Don't push your luck."  
"Let's tone it down and take one of my personal favorites, Nori Nori Nori."  
"Cool, let's do it." said Stan.  
  
Nori Nori Nori went by a bit too quickly and both hams ended up with an AA rank. "Not bad, you came up since last time, good for you." said Sparkle.  
"Yup, and my score's higher than yours, so the last song is my pick." said Stan.  
"Whatever."  
"Uh huh." It's time for a checkup, Sparkle. Perhaps the witchdoctor will know how to cure you...  
  
Stan chose the last song, Witchdoctor's Remix, but in addition to this, he changed the settings. Speed x4, heavy load. No let's see who whines about the speed. Stan thought.  
  
This song went by at an vigorative pace and off the bat, Sparkle was in trouble. "Holy ham, this is way too fast for my taste." she said.  
"Not my fault you can't keep up." said Stan.  
"I thought you were used to one point five speed."  
"Two speed on this was way too slow, so four speed."  
"You're persistent aren't you?"  
"You're outta gas, aren't you?"  
"Don't push it."  
"Look who's complaining now..."  
  
Stan pretty much had a full guage while Sparkle's guage was borderline empty, Stan even sung along while he moved on the floor. "Ooh, ee, ooh ah ah, ting, tang, walla walla bing bang. Ooh, ee, ooh ah ah, ting tang walla walla bing-"  
BLAM!  
"So sorry Sparkle, you lose. Now be a good lady and clear the floor."  
"You still have to finish the song." said Sparkle.  
Lucky Stan, why does he have to get it on with Sparkle? Oh well, maybe next time. Boss whined mentally.  
  
Stan finished the song with a C. His average was a B and the casanova was feeling good. "That was totally cool, bro." said Sandy.  
"I know." said Stan.  
"Okay, I lost, so what." said Sparkle, obviously a sore loser.  
"So we're going out on a date." Stan said.  
Clapping was soon heard, then she made her entrance. "Not to bad there, sugar. Hoo wee, that was mighty graceful, both of ya' were." Pepper gave her props.  
Oxnard decided to make his move. "So Pepper, um, uh, when do I get a dance with you?" he asked nervously, blushing all the while.  
"Maybe later." Pepper answered.  
"That might actually happen sooner than you think." said Sparkle.  
"How come?" asked Cappy.  
"I thought you doofuses would've know this by now, but I see that I was wrong. Since you all know how to dane so well, you should go to the Ham Park and sign up for the Floormaster Tournament tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow?" asked Boss.  
"I didn't stutter."  
"It'll be too late by then, I reckon." said Pepper, "all in favor of going to sign up right now, raise a paw." Of course this was unanimous. "Well, then, let's go sign up."  
"Hold on, you need to be in teams of two to sign up for this tourney." said Sparkle.  
"Fiddlesticks, that won't stop us, we'll decide who to team up with on the way there. C'mon y'all, last on there smells like cow chips." and off Pepper ran.  
"Pepper, wait!" yelled Oxnard as he followed his southern belle.  
  
The other hams quickly followed suit. "I'm outta here." said Sparkle and went to turn the other way.  
"Oh no you don't, you're coming along too." said Stan, taking Sparkle by the arm.  
"Let me go, I'm not going."  
"Fine, but I thought you'd want to get this date over with quickly, but since you don't wanna..."  
"Okay, okay, you got a point. Let's go already."  
"Fine, but remember, you have to like it, even if it turns out to be the worse date of your life."  
"Don't jinx it."  
  
(glances at watch) whoa, it's 4 a.m.? I'm going to bed now, review peeps. 


	3. an new, but familiar sign a date to forg...

Okay peeps, let's start bringin in some new (or familiar) faces. An OC will suffice for now. This will be a bit short chapter, but I'll make sure this make sense soon. And to the curious people out there, Hamtaro belongs to ShoPro Entertainment.  
  
The hams were at the fun park and were of course having a blast. there were floors a plenty and everything was going good. Dexter and Pashmina were currently on the floor together dancing to the groove of Hot Limit. "You've still got it, Dexter." said Pashmina.  
"Of course, I never lost it." said Dexter.  
"Ironic how the very song Dexter won Pashmina's love for he's dancing to, isn't it?" asked Panda.  
"I guess so." answered Hamtaro.  
"I think it's romantic." said Pepper.  
  
Sandy and Maxwell rejoined the hams. "Well, we're all signed up for the tournament, who's going to go next?" asked Maxwell.  
"We are, come on, sugah." said Pepper tugging at Oxnard's arm.  
"Can I eat first?" asked a whining Oxnard.  
"You can eat after we've signed up."  
"Oh, okay then Pepper, you win."  
  
And Pepper carts Oxnard off. "So has anyone seen Stan and Sparkle?" asked Sandy.  
"Haven't seen them since we all went in together." answered Cappy.  
"Zhey're probably on zheir date now." assumed Bijou.  
"Well, I hope they actually hit it off." said Sandy.  
"Heke?" everybody turned heads at Sandy's response. Dexter and Pashmina stopped dancing as well. Not that it hurt them, they missed the last five steps to their song.  
"Did I just hear you right, Sandy? You're wishing Stan and Sparkle to hook up?" asked Pashmina.  
"Like, yeah." Sandy answered.  
"Why the hell would you do that for?" asked Boss.  
"Stan is self centered and thinks that girls should go totally nuts for him. And Sparkle, like, pretty much thinks that way about everyone. Yin and Yang."  
"As much as I wanna disagree with that, I can't touch it." said Panda.  
"Hey, are you two done?"  
  
Everyone turned to see a new ham girl. She had an unmellow yellow and white coat, golden yellow eyes and had on shoes on her feet. "Well, are you, I would like to dance if you're both done." she said again.  
"No not at all, go right on ahead." Dexter finally answered.  
"Tinky."  
  
Dexter and Pashmina cleared the floor and the new ham girl stepped up and that's when everyone gasped. They all saw the orange yellow (yes orange yellow, not the other way around) sunspot on her back. "You guys okay?" she asked again.  
"You're a... a... Ra's Hamster." said Panda.  
"A Starburst Ra's Hamster to be exact. Is that a problem?"  
"Not really." Pashmina answered. We just thought you might be related to someone we know."  
"Nope, got the wrong gal."  
Oxnard and Pepper came back. "Well, we're all sign--Whoa, you're a Ra's Hamster." Oxnard of course was surprised.  
"Do you guys have something against my breed or something?" our ham girl asked.  
"Not really," Oxnard answered, "but that sunspot looks familiar. Anyway, I'm Oxnard. This is Pepper, Hamtaro, Bijou, Cappy, Penelope, Sandy, Maxwell, Howdy, Panda, Dexter and Pashmina, and of course, Boss."  
"Nice to meet you all, my name is Tango."  
  
Meanwhile, Stan and Sparkle are enjoying lunch. "Someone's having a good time." said Stan.  
"Just you, I hate this date." complained Sparkle.  
"Now stop it, you know you're enjoying yourself."  
"No I'm not."  
"Why?"  
"Because of you."  
"Why is it me, all I did was focus on you and our date?"  
"I guess I'm just picky."  
"Well, please don't be mean, I really want to make this enjoyable."  
"I dun wanna be on a date with you."  
"So you would rather be alone then?"  
".....Well."  
  
"You know something Howdy, you're not too bad of a dancer." said a panting Tango.  
"You know how to cut a rug yourself," said Howdy. "Thanks for the workout."  
"So are you entering the tournament?"  
"No, but my sister and her 'boy bud' have already."  
  
Suddenly, music began to play, then came an announcement. "Okay you geeks, clear the floors, we're taken over from here, so step off now!"  
  
Stay tuned peeps, more OCs are on the way. 


	4. enter the elite

You know what peeps, it's good to make an installment on something people actually like. Anyway, I've dubbed the next of ham after the creator of the next of ham (That person knows who that person is) for this chapter. Enjoy.  
  
A rainbow of hams walked into the arcade, a good seeing distance from the hams. One of the girls, who caught Dexter's glance, gave him a wink. Being the gentleham that he is, Dexter waved back. "Those guys look pretty cool." said Cappy.  
"I wonder if they're in the tournament?" asked Maxwell.  
"They are," answered Boss, "and they're your biggest mountain to climb."  
"You know zem, Boss?" asked Bijou.  
"Yes."  
"Who are they?" asked Cappy.  
Boss took a breath and answered, "Those hams are literally trouble."  
"Names, please." suggested everyone.  
"They are known as The Comet Crew."  
"Comet Crew?"  
"Okyoo?"  
"Yes, they are The Comet Crew, a family of elite floormasters."  
"Hey you guys," said Pashmina as she rejoined her friends. "Didja get a load of the bunch that just walked in?"  
"Yup, Boss said they go by the name Comet Crew." answered Dexter.  
"Tell us more about them, Boss."  
  
"Listen up everybody." Boss cleared his throat, then continued. "As I said earlier, The Comet Crew are a family of elite floormasters who are very well known by the veterans of the game. A Floormaster is someone of high skill on the dance floor games like the the elite floormaster duo, Rage and Emi. [Hmmm, these names sound familiar....] Their styles are graceful, unorthadox, you name it, they're that good."  
"Sounds totally freaky." said Sandy.  
"You said it." said Cappy.  
"They take stuff like this seriously." Boss continued. "As they are incredibly skilled. Each of them has their own signature style, which is hard to beat."  
"Can they be beaten?" asked Dexter.  
"You mean, have they been beaten?" corrected Maxwell.  
"They can... and they have." Boss answered. "I read it in the paper one day. The Comet Crew took on a challenger in the championship Floormaster's Clash. It was closely played, but all six Comets were beaten. The challanger never said his name, but the Comets refer to him as... The One."  
"Do they, the Comets I mean, know his name?" asked Hamtaro.  
"If they do, the paper never said." answered Boss. "But that One, was incredibly skilled."  
"That's very helpful to know there will be class A competition in this tourney." said Pashmina.  
"You're insulting them, for they are in a class of their own;" said Boss. "Ice, Yami, Dandy Lion, Blossom, Noah, and Trav, they are the Comet Crew."  
"Those guys sound interesting." said Hamtaro.  
"They don't look so tough."  
  
The hams turn to see Sparkle and Stan. "How long have you been here listening?" asked Hamtaro.  
"We came in a little while after the Comets." answered Stan.  
"Nice story, Boss, but I don't buy into it at all." said Sparkle. "Just a bunch of useless hype if you want my opinion."  
"I want your opinion of the date you had with my brother." said Sandy.  
"Stan actually didn't flirt, he kept his attention on me instead of the other girls. Finally, someone is recognizing my beauty."  
"Well Sparkle, I'll go sign us up for the tournament then." said Stan.  
"Okay, go on ahead. I'll go ahead and take on a Comet."  
"Um, Sparkle, I-"  
"Just watch me work, Boss."  
  
Sparkle went to the Comets who were stretching. "Hey you, with the flower, I'm calling you out." She said.  
"You mean me?" the girl ham asked.  
"Yeah you."  
"I know you're not ready for me, so I'll leave you to shadow me."  
"Shadow you?, haha no. I'm ready to battle you..... if you're not afraid of losing again."  
  
"Boss, why did Sparkle say that?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Because she has a death wish." answered Boss with folded arms.  
"Oh."  
  
"You got some nerve running your mouth where it shouldn't be running."  
"You got some nerve running from a challenge."  
"....Touché. Fine, prepare for destruction."  
"You wish to destroy Sparkle, the dance floor queen? Well then, let's battle."  
"You pick the first song."  
"Fine I will... uh... name?"  
"Blossom."  
"Right. Blossom, you're going down."  
Tch, you wish. Blossom thought confidently. I'm going to stomp her into a mudhole.  
  
Sparkle chose Dynamite Rave and headed for the settings; Sparkle hit 2 speed, Blossom hit 4 speed; freeze off; Blossom hit vanish, Sparkle hit reverse; heavy load for both girls and the game began. Meanwhile, Stan came back from registerring his duo in. "So Sparkle's taking on one of the Comets eh?" he asked.  
"She'll lose." said Boss.  
"You're real supportive, Boss man."  
"Sorry, but it's the truth."  
"Well look on the bright side." said Hamtaro.  
"What bright side?" asked the other hams.  
"We'll get to see how good they are first hand. This way, we'll know what to expect."  
"I'll spot her from a distance." said Stan and off he went to eye his date.  
"Shouldn't we go with him?" asked Cappy.  
"Don't get involved, this is Sparkle's funeral." said Boss.  
"But what about Stan?" asked Pashmina.  
"She he get into trouble, then we'll step in."  
  
Stan had joined Sparkle and the other member of the Comet Crew. "I've heard rumors on how skilled you guys are." he opened up a chat.  
"Believe them, they don't lie." said one of the Comets, a gray ham with black wristbands.  
"So how good are you guys?"  
"We're elite."  
"Don't you mean former elite?"  
"What do you mean, former elite? Don't bring trouble with you, you cracker."  
"No trouble, just watching my date on the floor with this girl right here."  
"Do us a favor, tell your girlfriend to watch her mouth."  
"She not my girl yet, but I'll make sure to tell her after the round."  
  
"Well Sparkle, you got guts, I'll say that." said Blossom.  
"You got skill, I'll say that." said Sparkle.  
  
And with that, the round was over, a draw. "Interesting, we tied." said Sparkle. "You pick the next song."  
"That was a good warm up, now it's time to get down." said Blossom.  
"I'm Stan, what might your name be?" Stan intro'ed himself.  
"You may call me, Elite Master." the gray ham answered.  
"Do you have a name?"  
"I just told it to you."  
"Do you have a nickname?"  
"Yes. Juggernaut Floormaster of Battle."  
"I'll just call you Blanx, 'cause that's all you're shooting to me."  
  
"Who is Stan talking to?" asked Pashmina.  
"That, Pashmina, is Noah." answered Boss. "He leads the Comets and it the strongest of the family of Floormasters. Sparkle is facing against 'Miss Shojo Grace' herself, Blossom."  
  
"Okay then Sparkle, time to Drop Out." said Blossom.  
"Fine." said Sparkle, but then thought, She had to pick this song....  
"Blossom's putting Sparkle on Drop Out." said Pashmina.  
"If Sparkle can survive this song, she may have a chance." said Panda.  
  
After the simple beginning, everything went like a downhill battle for Sparkle. "Hang in there Sparky, you'll be okay." cheered Stan.  
Yeah right, thought Noah. "Finish her off, sis."  
Hang in there... easier said than done. thought a struggling Sparkle.  
"What's wrong your highness, do you feel your butt slipping off your throne?" asked Blossom.  
"You can say that's pushing it." answered "Queen" Sparkle.  
"I'm taking your crown, after this, it only gets faster."  
"Faster..."  
  
Sparkle was in danger, she barely sliced the imminent empty guage of battle. her defeat it near. "What the hell kind of song is this?" asked Stan.  
"One where weak little punks like you and your date will never survive." Noah answered.  
"You watch your mouth."  
"You gonna make me?"  
"I thought that was what The One did."  
BLAM!  
"You lose, Sparkle, I am the new dance floor queen." said Blossom.  
"Yeah I lost. I'll leave now." said Sparkle.  
"Oh no, you still have one last thing to do."  
"I guess I'm to refer to you as Queen Blossom now, aren't I?"  
"True, but you also have to bow to me and kiss my feet."  
  
[If I offend anyone in the next line, sorry about this.]  
"If you think I'm going to kiss your feet, you're out your damn mind!"  
"Well that what fallen queens of the floor do."  
"Prove it."  
"Yami, set up the footage."  
"Already set and ready to play." Yami said.  
"I gotta see this one." said Stan.  
"Fine." said Noah.  
  
Yami played the footage and it clearly showed a former queen relinquishing her crown to a new queen. "You truly are a Dance Floor Queen, I hope your reign is a long and prosperous one, Queen Amanda." with that, the former queen bowed and kissed the new queen's feet. The former queen stood, held up the arm of the new queen and everyone cheered. Yami stopped the tape and began to disassemble the projector. "That tape is fake." said an outraged Stan.  
"No, it's vintage." said Yami, then the shadow colored ham continued with his work.  
"You've seen the proof, now bow and kiss my feet." said Blossom. "And where's my crown?"  
"I left it at home, but I'll bring it since I'm in the tournament."  
"Fine, I'll accept a later crowning, but you still have to complete ceremony."  
"No way, Sparkle's not kissing your feet." said Stan as he went to stop the demeanor...  
But Noah blocked his way. "Stand down." he ordered.  
"Get the hell out of my way, Blanx."  
"You will NOT interrupt ceremony."  
"Watch me."  
  
Stan forced his way by Noah, but Noah took Stan's left arm and threw him over his shoulder. Stan went back first into the side of another game. "No way." said Howdy.  
"Let's move, hams." said Boss as he led the charge.  
  
"Stan..." Sparkle went to run to Stan, but Blossom tripped her, sending Sparkle face first into the ground. "While you're down there, kiss my feet." said Blossom.  
"Never." said Sparkle.  
"You WILL kiss my feet, it is your duty as a fallen queen."  
"Stop this crap now!"  
  
Boss and the other hams appeared. Bijou and Pashmina went to Sparkle aid (ironic, isn't it?) assome of the guys went to Stan. Boss B-lined it for Noah. "You got some nerve acting out of line like that." he scolded.  
"Hmf, stay out of matters that don't concern you, Boss." said Noah.  
"Stan and the rest of these hams are my matter, and I won't have them harm, especially for no reason."  
"No one is to interrupt ceremony."  
"That doesn't give you the right to fling him into another machine, Noah."  
  
"Stan, are you okay?" asked Cappy as he and Dexter helped Stan get up.  
"Noah, so that's his name..." said Stan.  
  
"You know, it's this kind of behavior that I don't tolerate." said Boss.  
"So what, you don't tolerate much anyhow." said Noah.  
"The act you did was inexcuseable."  
"Kinda like how you kicked us out?"  
"I kicked you out because you brought trouble to my clubhouse."  
"Well you need to check your hams for bringing trouble our way."  
  
"Step down, ladies, this queen ain't done here yet." said Blossom.  
"You're crazy, having someone kiss your feet." said Pashmina.  
"You don't deserve to be a queen." said Bijou.  
"You know, you're a sweetie.... okay, just this once, I'll be a better queen. You don't have to kiss my feet, but you will hail me."  
"Sparkle, don't." said Pashmina.  
"It all right, she earned that much." said Sparkle as she stood up. "Don't get too cocky, I'll be back for my title, Queen Blossom."  
"See, now was that so hard?"  
"Don't push your luck, highness." said Pashmina.  
  
"You know something, Stan got what he deserved trying to interrupt ceremony." said Noah.  
"Don't worry, I ain't mad at you, Noah." said Stan.  
"Stan let me handle this." said Boss.  
"Don't waste your breath on him, Boss. He doesn't even want to talk about how he got beat anyway."  
"Watch your mouth!" barked Yami.  
"Who was that guy that beat you former elite Floormasters anyway?" asked Tango.  
"He... we refer to him as The One, we do not speak of his name."  
"You don't have to speak of me, I'm right here."  
  
Find out about the "One" next chapter peeps, review! 


	5. a remix and brewing trouble

Okay peeps, a few announcements before I get started: First off, to all my peeps who stop off at mediaminer to read my other Hamtaro stories that the admin cut from here because they were deamed "explicit" for them (because they didn't understan hamster breeding too well), the stage is set up for the story Love and Breeding. You're about to see one of the most romantic love scenes that I can ever come up with and that is in the works as I write (I'm a busy kat ever'one). Second, I'll be posting up a new story of Hamtaro, a little "Drama for yo Mamma" deal. Though drama isn't this kat's forté, he's gonna post it anyway so look for it peeps. Finally, I want everyone to check out the entrance of this next chapter, because his entrance is a bit due and I hope you enjoy it. Now, let's get back on the floor.  
  
The Comet Crew looked around to see where "The One" was, but none of them saw him. Even some of the hams were looking for him. "Man you guys are so predictable, made you look." said Stan as he laughed.  
Noah didn't find that too funny and let Stan know it by getting in his face. "You think this is a joke, you cracker?!" he scorned, "I don't find it funny."  
"You guys are way too serious, lighten up already."  
"I haven't begun to get physical with you, yet."  
"Chill out already."  
"What I wanna know is why you keep this One so secret? Would it damage your reputation or something to let us know who he is?" asked Hamtaro.  
The Comet Crew leered the golden hamster something vicious. "We refer to him as 'The One' and only as 'The One' you scatterbrained hamster. What the hell is wrong with you?" Noah questioned.  
"You tell me, I'm not scared of the One like you guys seem to be."  
"Hamtaro, that's taking it a bit too far." Boss warned.  
"Nonesense. These Comets are so afraid of this guy, that they don't even mention his name. I'm starting to think they don't even know his name, or even worse, they're scared of this "One" so much that hearing his name gives them nightmares of something. No Floormaster, especially elite ones, should fear anyone, let alone anyone's name. In my opinion, that shows how much of a chicken-shit you really are."  
  
The Comets weren't too pleased with Hamtaro's speech. "Uh, Hamtaro..." Maxwell said as the angry crew walked towards him with angry eyes.  
"All I'm saying is this, if you're afraid of 'The One' so much to not even tell people his real name instead of some nickname you give this guy, then why the hell do you consider yourself an elite Floormaster? Tell me that, Comet Crew."  
  
The Comets stopped dead in their tracks from that simple question, each was silent.... "You can't tell me, huh? Figures. Elite Floormasters, yeah right... you're all a bunch of fakes." Hamtaro simply walked off.  
"That ain't fair, we aren't fakes. You didn't have to say such words that hurt so much." said Blossom as she began to cry. "You're mean."  
"You're also dead!" Yelled Noah as he went to strike Hamtaro from behind.  
  
Noah went in for a clothesline, but Hamtaro did the splits, which dodge the attack. While still in the plits, Hamtaro spun his torso, arms extended and his left arm swept Noah off his feet. The golden ham hit a breakdance move which ended up in a spinning handstand and prung off his arms, landing on his feet. "I don't think so, Hamtaro don't play that." he said. That one move stunned all the other Comets. "It's not nice to sneak up on someone..."  
That move.... Yami thought, Only "The One" was able to do that move. He then yelled, "Impossible! Only one person can do something like that and that's 'The One', but you..."  
"Still hiding behind that nickname, huh?" asked Hamtaro.  
How could I have fallen for that twice? Noah though as he was still on his butt.  
  
Hamtaro turned to give Noah a hand, but Noah knocked Hamtaro's paw away. "I don't need your help." he said.  
"Last chance, you gonna tell us who this 'One' is, or do I have to?" asked Hamtaro.  
"You don't know his name."  
"Of course I do, he trained me... and all my friends. Except Sparkle, he didn't train her."  
"You're all students that 'The One' has trained? Impossible."  
  
Suddenly, all the hams heard music. "Hey I like that beat." said Hamtaro.  
As if on cue, our "One" stepped right on in in his usual way... and in song as well;  
  
"I travel all around the world to places far and wide.  
  
From every single town and place, to every contryside.  
  
Through all seven of dem seas and to dem four poles,  
  
greeting peeps along the way ev'ry where he goes."  
  
The red hamster, not looking mind you, gigs his way in and takes Pashmina's paws.  
  
"Come dance with me, hon-ey. I will show you how."  
  
"Dance with me tender, ain't no stoppin us now." [how did Pashmina know that line in the song?]  
  
"Come now don't be shy... I'll show the way.  
  
Come out to the dance floor and let's get down this way.  
  
Step to the left... Step to the right... Gig side to side... don't forget to slide."  
  
During the slide, he lets go of Pashmina and grabs Pepper.  
  
"Let's play Chase... now Chase her right back  
  
Spin her around and slide her through, that's the way you Jam."  
  
"I always play the rhythm and I play my rhythm proud,  
  
I always play that music and I sing my anthem loud.  
  
Although I keep on moving with my heart and with my soul,  
  
the one thing that remains 'bout me; I still love to Jam and Roll."  
  
[If you haven't guessed who this ham is by now, I might as well tell you, it's me.] Throughout the course of his song, Jam managed to find all of the girls and dance with them without even looking, which is quite an amazing feat when the spirit moves you. After his song and dance routine was done, the hams gave Jam his applause as he finally started looking aroud. "Well now, the spirit moved me again..." he said.  
"No, really?" asked Hamtaro with sarcasm.  
"Yup."  
"I never noticed...."  
"Hamtaro you still stayed the way you are, that's good."  
"Uh... could you explain that please?"  
"Pashy, Pashy, Pashy..."  
"Jam, Jam, Jam...." Pashmina greeted Jam as they exchanged hugs. "You still have your charm."  
"And you still have your beauty."  
"Oh, stop it." Pashmina was now blushing.  
"Yes, please stop it." added Dexter.  
"Sandy, how have you been?"  
"Good." Sandy answered. "Learned a few new tricks with my ribbon."  
"That's nice to know..." Jam skips over to our sweetheart. "Ah, mon petite Bijou. Bonjour."  
"Bonjour, Jam."  
"Como tallé vous?" [I hope I spelled that right...]  
"Come again?"  
"Nevermind. Ah, it's Dex, tell me something.... what is the Pythagorean Theory?"  
"It slipped my mind right now." Dexter answered.  
"It slips my mind all the time."  
  
Jam and Dexter share a good laugh as Stan approaches them. "You owe my a battle, Jam." he said.  
"Worry not, you'll get it." said Jam. He walks over to where Oxnard is. "It's been a while Ox, still getting fat I see..."  
"That's not funny." said Oxnard drooping his head.  
"Hey, at least you're eating good, that's all that counts.... And..... well now, I haven't met you two girls before."  
"Well, this...."Oxnard spins Pepper around, "Is my baby, Pepper."  
"Howdy." Pepper greets.  
"And that's Sparkle."  
"Now that's a messed up way to introduce me." Sparkle scorned Oxnard. "Anyway, I'm Sparkle, a famous singer, you might know me from somewhere...."  
"Haven't heard of you until now." said Jam. Sparkle's chin dropped. "Anyway, Jam I am gals."  
  
Jam makes his way over to Panda. "Still good with your paws I see, how are you on your feet?" he asked.  
"Equal," answered Panda, "but I wasn't the one who stubbed myself the last time."  
"I knew you were gonna mention that."  
"Hey, what about me?" said Howdy as he walked over to the two hams.  
"I hope you've improved your comedy."  
"Butteract. This girl had everything going for her, butteract."  
"Yup, still needs work."  
  
"Jam ham." Cappy ran to Jam.  
"Capster, you look great." Jam greeted Cappy. "Nice lid, I got you a new one."  
"Cool."  
"Okyoo, okyoo..." Peneolpe squeaked.  
Jam picked up Peneolpe, "I haven't forgot about you, Little One. I got you something too." he put the small ham down. "Read anything good lately, Max?"  
"Just my favorite book, that's all." Maxwell answered.  
"Moroften."  
"Moroften, what's that?"  
"The reason why you need to get out... more often."  
"That was a bad joke."  
"It was also my impersonation of Howdy."  
  
Jam and Maxwell shere a hug and a laugh. "Now how come my joke wasn't funny and his was, it was the same joke?" said a confused Howdy.  
"Because Jam had a different approach than you did." answered Dexter.  
"Boss...." Jam said.  
"Jam, how are ya?" Boss asked.  
"Still moving."  
"I can see that, stand still for a while already."  
"Can't stand still, I'm dynamic."  
  
Jam walked over to the Comet Crew. "So Dandy Lion, did you make a wish yet?" he asked.  
Dandy Lion turned to Jam. "I wish you wouldn't do such a thing like you just pulled off." she answered.  
Jam then walked over to Noah..... "I see you haven't changed at all."  
"Hmf." Noah smirked.  
"So, are you finally going to call me by name?"  
"Hell no."  
"Still have a grudge... pitiful..."  
"You're too laid back."  
"And you're too serious, wanna trade?"  
"Forget it."  
"Fine, but at least I tried."  
"No you haven't."  
  
Jam walked over to Boss. "Go on back to the clubhouse, I'll be right behing you, and take Tango." he whispered.  
"Right." Boss whispered back.  
"That Jam is something out of the ordinary." said Pepper.  
"Yes, yes he is." said Panda.  
  
The hams decided to leave, and Tango with them, but the hams didn't get far before the rest of The Comet Crew blocked their way. "Step aside Blossom, we just wanna leave." said Sparkle.  
"I know..." said Blossom, "and I can't let any of you pass.... except you, you're a cutie. I always let cuties go by." she points to Dexter.  
"Uh, thanks." said Dexter as he walked right on by.  
Pashmina folloed, but Blossom cut her off. "Not so fast, sister, I didn't say you, just him."  
SMACK! "I ain't your sister, and stop hitting on my boyham." scorned Pashmina.  
"Your boy ham.... he'd be happier with me I betcha."  
This is probably how Pashmina felt when Howdy and I used to fight over her. Dexter thought. "Girls, girls, let's be reasonable about this." he then pled.  
"Shut up, Dexter. I won't let this tramp take you from me, even if she WAS a former elite."  
"I still AM an elite Floormistress, and if need be, beat you on the battlefield to take Dexter away from you."  
"Sorry, but I plan on keeping him."  
"The you had better improve your skills, Pashmina."  
"Well, you girls feud," said a blizzard blue female ham as she walked over to Panda. [sorry I changed the color, but this one makes a better tint]  
"M-m-m-me?" Panda asked.  
"Yeah, you look strong."  
"Well, I did build this place."  
"You already wind me into your web, but you keep going, please do."  
"Um, your name please."  
"I am the arctic princess, the mistress of blizzard, the alkanet of the north, but you may call me Ice."  
  
"Well Panda made a new friend." said Hamtaro.  
Yami walks over to Sandy, "Well, I wouldn't mind dancing with a girl like you." he said, taking her paw and kissing it.  
"Well I..." Sandy had a blush on her face.  
"Come with me, my dear. I shal lavish you with unending attention."  
"Pump your brakes, you." said Maxwell.  
"Yeah, and get yer grubby paws off of my sister." added Stan.  
"You dare relinquish her hand from me?" asked Yami.  
"Hell yeah!" answered Maxwell and Stan.  
"No one gets my sister unless I approve." Stan went on further.  
"Sandy, say something." said Maxwell.  
"I... um... please take me away..." Sandy managed to say.  
"With pleasure." said Stan.  
"No, not you, him."  
"Noooo, you can't, you're my girl." said Maxwell.  
"You mean, WAS your girl." said Yami. "Come Sandy, let us leave together."  
"Totally." said Sandy as she took Yami's paw.  
"But Sandy, what about me?" asked Maxwell.  
"If you weren't into those books of yours so much, you, like, might still have me.... Or have a chance to get me back..."  
"Okay Comets, let them pass. We've practice to continue, and we'll waste no more time on these ameteurs and their friends." said Noah.  
"Let's move hams." said Boss.  
"But what about Sandy...." Maxwell whined.  
"Leave her here, she chose to stay with them."  
"Sandy..."  
Sandy turned to Maxwell and waved him good-bye. "Later, Maxy..." she said.  
  
Maxwell turned away sadly and slowly began to cry as he and the hams left. Pashmina and Blossom exchanged glares, Panda and Ice waved good day and the rest were just as amazed as Maxwell was. "Hams, remember that this ain't over." said Boss. "We're heading back to the clubhouse to train. Those Comets dont beat easily."  
  
And off everyone left the park..... 


	6. Jam's inspirational Heat

Wow, I didn't expect for that last chap to end like that, poor Maxwell...  
  
The hams were on their way back to the clubhouse after the events at the arcade. Some of them weren't too pleased. "Can you believe ze nerve of zhose Comets, how rude." said Bijou.  
"Blocking the way like that, and having someone try to kiss their feet. They'll pay for that insult." said Sparkle.  
"I'm sorry about that part of our date, I'll make it up to you." said Stan.  
"It's not your fault."  
"Well it's nice to know that Sparkle enjoyed herself, non?" asked Bijou.  
"Yes, Stan was a gentleham."  
"We're gonna get those guys back for bullying us, just you wait." said Cappy.  
"Take it easy you hams, those guys aren't pushovers, you know." said Boss.  
  
Jam simply walked with the hams, he clearly had nothing to say. "Is everyone frosty?" he finally broke his silence.  
"I'm fine," answered Hamtaro, "but those fakers don't scare me, not one bit." The hams made it back to the clubhouse and had some practice. They were preparing for the tournament which is slowly on its way.  
  
After a while, the hams started to practice on the floor. "Not bad this time, you've gotten better than when you battled for Pashmina." said Jam.  
"You've gotten better since your battle for Bijou." said Stan.  
"First Panda, now you. Did you guys want me to end up with Bijou?"  
"Did you want to end up with Bijou?"  
"Bijou is a petite de pretty, anyone would've been happy with her, even Panda."  
"I'm glad you're still in the game."  
"Took the words right from my mouth."  
  
"Hey Cappy, after they're done, you wanna train with me on the floor?" asked Tango.  
"Well..." Cappy began.  
"Oh come one, it'll be fun."  
"I didn't say that I didn't want to."  
"So will you?"  
".....Sure, why not, it won't hurt."  
  
"You made it through all three rounds, but I still had a better overall grade than you. But it was still good to battle you." said Jam.  
"Yeah, I lost," said Stan, "but at least I kept frosty."  
"That's the good thing."  
"So Jam, you sure know much about The Comet Crew." said Pashmina.  
"Of course I do, they weren't easy to beat."  
"I find that hard to believe." said Hamtaro. "Anyone can beat those fakers, they don't scare me in the slightest."  
"Hamtaro, please let eet go." pled Bijou.  
"What was the whole deal of calling Jam "The One" anyway? Jam is Jam, not "The", or "One", or "The One", Jam is Jam. It's like saying Jam's name would ruin their reputation or something...."  
"That's exactly what happened."  
"Heke?!" All the hams were now interested.  
"Lemme tell you the story."  
"Cool, but where's Maxwell at, he should hear this story too?" asked Cappy.  
"He's still hurting since what's his name took Sandy from Him." said Howdy.  
"That everyone was Yami." said Jam. "And I've a gut that each of them will want your sweeties."  
"You can say that again." said Pashmina.  
  
Stan went to see Maxwell in his study and when he got there, Maxwell wasn't all that he usually is. "Hey, Jam's gonna tell us how he beat the Comets, come on and listen with the rest of us." he said.  
"Pass, just leave me alone." Maxwell replied sadly.  
"What the hell is your problem?"  
"Sandy just walked away with Yami all infatuated and everything... she forgot all about me. It's like she doesn't want to want to be with me anymore."  
"So what?"  
"I'm hurt that I lost my girl, now just leave me alone." Maxwell picked up one of his books.  
Stan took the book from Maxwell and decked him dead in the mouth. "You good for nothing coward."  
"Hey, that's one of my favorite books-"  
"Favorite books my ass! And you wonder why my sister ran off with Yami... it's because of the time you put into these books. Didn't you hear Sandy's words when she ran off with Yami? I did, and it urks me really bad."  
If you would put more attention on me than you do those books, maybe.... maybe you'd still have me. Put more attention on me.... attention on me.... attention on me...  
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Don't zone out on me!"  
"You don't get it. How am I supposed to get my gorl back from Yami?"  
"You're gonna get her back on the exact place you lost her."  
"On the floor, that's no use. I'm not even good on the game, and even if I was, how am I going to stand a chance against one of the worlds greatest Floormasters?"  
"What do you mean by 'One of the world's greatest Floormasters?' Maxwell?"  
  
This is where Jam takes over with the rest of the hams. "The Comet Crew aren't just what you see in person. Those guys are just a few of the world's greatest Floormasters, believe it or not. Those Comets practically live, sleep, dream and run those floors. 4step, 5step, 9step, you name it, they have conquered it. I've been to many Floormaster Tournaments, as a spectator and a contestant, and I will tell you first-hand.... competition's tough. Peeps come from all the corners and cracks of the globe to be at these events, some watch as other participate. Everyone who enters these Floormaster Tourneys makes sure they know how to get down for themselves and their partners. After taking fourth place from the most recent tournament, I entered again, hoping to improve my skill. Yes, I've got down on those floors, sometimes to the point of overexertion, but unlike the rest of the people who do this workout 'til their sore and legs are on fire, who take breaks of fifteen minutes and then get back on the floor to workout until their strength is wittled to the bone, I had more self dignity... Or at least I gained it."  
"It's just a game, Jam. What's the worse that can happen?" asked Pashmina.  
"One guy, he was really skilled, entered a tourney and decided to go all out. Get it right, he made it far... but exceeded his own limit. During the second stage, he collapsed during his practice run. The doctors said that he over exerted himself and had a heart attack. Anymore exertion on himself and he would've killed himself."  
"Whoa....." all the hearing hams said.  
"I remember that too, it was just before the tourney that I had entered, he watched me practice as I had my workout....  
  
"After my run, he came up and gave me one of his energy drinks. 'Son, you seems pretty good.' he said.  
'Thanks, but I've still not even close to being formidable.' Jam said.  
'You sound confident, which is exactly what you need. What's your name?'  
'Jam I am, who be you?'  
'I be Heat. Tell me Jam, why do you play these games?'  
'Three reasons: 1) because it's the best workout that a gym can't even touch. 2) because I chose to learn how to do this from watching everybody else, so I can learn the routines and get better. And 3) because even though it's a game, I make sure that I have a lot of fun doing this and not let any other reason cloud my judgement from this. It's what I love to do.'  
'I liked your second reason and the first half of your third reason the best. You realize that this is a game and you shouldn't be angry with yourself because that's it.'  
  
"After a nice chat, he treated me to every last floor. Sure Heat challenged me, but I thought of it as a workout than actual being schooled. In truth, he was training me, though he never told me.... At least, that's what I thought anyway, he was training me. 'So you've entered the next Floormaster Tournament, have you?' asked Heat.  
'No, I haven't...' Jam answered. 'I wanted to, but I got to the registrations too late and they closed before I got there. I can tell you're in it, though.'  
'You bet your sweet sitter I am. Tell me, how do you feel when you get on that floor?"  
'I can't really say, it's like... being born again. I guess it's exciting so much that even when I can't complete a song, I wanna skae it off and try it again because I had fun from it.'  
'That's good to hear.'"  
"Jam, not to be rude or anything, but do you plan on getting to the point of this story, some of us have to get home?" said Cappy.  
"That's right, you hams are domesticated. Well, lemme get to the main point. "After a while, I watched Heat practice. He didn't even stop to take a break, I though he was just full of energy. Then as I saw his sweat, I knew that something was wrong.... and I was right. He passed out on the stage and I simply went to his aid.  
  
"As Heat lay bedwritten, I went in to visit him. I wasn't sad though, I kept my head up. 'I owe you much, my friend.' he said.  
'You'd do the same for me.' Jam said.  
'I like your spirit, so full of energy and hope. I want you to promise me one thing.'  
'My word is my bond.'  
'I lived by one rule everytime I stepped onto those floors: Play the rhythm, keep moving, stay frosty and always remain dynamic. But I forgot to add one thing: Know your limit. If I would've known my limit, I wouldn't be here now.'  
'Don't worry, I'll make sure to remember your words.'  
'And remember also, that it's not about how skilled you are, or how much you doubt yourself or pride yourself, always have fun.'  
'Such wisdom from one of the best. I won't forget these words, Heat. Get well soon.'  
  
"With that said and done, I left him to rest and recover from the stresses Heat had gone through. What I didn't realize however, that that was the final time I spoke to him."  
"Bo-ring. Get to the Comets already." said Cappy.  
"Cappy, be nice." Pashmina scorned him. "Go ahead Jam, what happened next?"  
"Well, the day of the Floormaster's Ball came and they explained the rules. I didn't see Heat anywhere at all, and this concerned me. 'I wonder where Heat could be...' Jam wondered.  
'Excuse me, pardon me, coming through.' It was a ham doctor. I thought that he was going to say that Heat wouldn't be attending.... Boy was I wrong, very wrong. 'Are you the announcer?' asked the ham doctor.  
'Yes I am, is something wrong?' questioned the announcer.  
'I'm here on behalf of one of your participants, Heat.'  
'Do you know where he is, because his first match begins the competition?'  
'Heat died this morning from a heart attack. It was so severe that there was nothing we could do to save him.'  
'Man, that's too bad.'  
'I know, but I found a note that Heat personally wrote.' Doctor Ham gave the announcer the note.  
'Okay let's see...' the announcer began to read the note. 'O-kay, people I have some news to report. If there is a Jam present, let him or her step forward.'  
  
"It was a shock, but I stepped up. Turns out that Heat had requested that I take his place."  
"Wow, you're so lucky, Jam." said Bijou.  
"Yeah. Well, I'll stop here and explain the rest to you tomorrow, since you hams gotta get home..."  
"No way, tell your tale." Snoozer put in his words. "A good story brings great knowledge..... Zu, zu, zu..."  
Jam shook his head, "That sleepyhead... you guys share his opinion?"  
"Sure." said most of the hams.  
"I'd agree, but I gotta get home." said Cappy. "Fill me in tomorrow, Jam."  
"Sorry, but all of you should hear this. If one hams leaves, then I'm not telling."  
"Awwwwwwwwwwww!" the other hams whined.  
"Now, now hams, I'll tell you the rest tomorrow, but you should get home."  
"Man, I wanted to hear this story too..." said Pashmina.  
"Cliffhangers are so much fun, because that gives the listeners a chance to predict what will happen next. See you tomorrow, sugar."  
  
With that, all the hams left the clubhouse. As the place was pretty much empty, Jam began to gig like always. "You know, it wouldn't be right to have you leave, so why don't you crash here tonight?" asked Boss.  
"Cool, I'll do just that." answered Jam.  
"So, gimme a preview on what's gonna happen tomorrow..."  
"I'll explain how these tourneys work and I'll tell you all about my encounter with the Comets and the aftermath thereafter. But for now, I'm gonna workout."  
"Do you mind if I join you?"  
"Not at all, let's practice."  
"Can I stay too Boss, please?" asked Tango.  
"Why not, the more the mereier is what they say."  
  
well peeps, gotta cut you here, but just do what Pepper's gonna do, visualize what will happen next. until then, give your piece. 


	7. the Crew and I pt 1

I give thanks to all my peeps who enjoyed my story, this is for you guys. Remember, send your reviews and your pieces to me and I'll keep on making this more interesting. Thanks for your reviews and keep 'em coming, cause it's good to hear y'all. And just so you know, this chapter's a long one, so grabb your munchies and hit the throne first before reading:  
  
And to the one's that are ready, here we go.  
  
All the hams went their seperate ways home with one thing on their minds, what will happen next. "I can't believe that Cappy was in such a rush to leave, we can't hear the rest of the story until tomorrow." whined Oxnard.  
"Settle down, puddin' pie," Pepper reassured Oxnard. "I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. And besides, where's yer sense of imagination at? You can always picture what happens next."  
"Yeah, but it doesn't beat the real thing."  
"Actually, it just might Oxy. It all depends on how you look at it. Like this one time where I saw this bull and this purty cow and...... mmmaybe I won't tell you that one, it's off subject."  
"Oh, Pepper...."  
  
Panda was on his way home when he ran into some company. "Hey hey, how's it been? Do you remember me?"  
"Of course, you're kinda hard to forget, Frosty." said Panda.  
"It's Ice, not Frosty."  
"You don't like my nickname for you... sorry."  
"It's okay, I like it anyway."  
"Oh, well that's cool."  
"So, do you step well?"  
"Of course. Jam and I built one that me and my friends use. Ah how it passes the time..."  
"You sure know how to let yourself free, it reminds me of The One anyway."  
Panda looked confused, "Who is the One you eep talking about?"  
"You know who he is, he left with you."  
"You mean Jam, well he is very good on the floor."  
"Yes, The One is good on the floor."  
"Is that his Stage Name or something."  
"No, that's just what we call him. We know his name is Jam..." Ice gives a quick shudder, "but that's just what we call him."  
"Tell me something, do you know anything about Heat?"  
"I know about Heat. Back in the days, he was the only onee who could match us. Heat could never win against us however, only The One has. Which is why in my opinion, we refer to Jam...." Ice gives another quick shudder, "as The One."  
"That's a pretty messed up label..."  
  
Cappy was in a mad dash home. "I didn't even get my gift from Jam." he said while he sprinted. "Man, Sue is gonna go nuts when she sees me not in my cage..."  
  
Dexter and Howdy walked home together. "You know, that one Comet girl really likes you." said Howdy.  
"Yes, she sure does." said Dexter.  
"How come you get all the pretty girls?"  
"I don't have all the pretty girls, Hamtaro's the lucky one... but Bijou still doesn't compare to my precious-mina."  
"About that..."  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Don't steal my bit, Dexter. Make up your own material."  
"Still mad that Pashmina's mine, are you?"  
"No, I lost fair and square."  
"I see, well I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Later."  
  
Howdy went into the shop and dusted off his apron. Hmmm, if Hannah was around, I would probably sign her up with me and we can do a partners thing. Howdy thought. But Hannah isn't around, so I guess I'll have to do the singles route. Once he made it to where he was to be, he simply started cleaning his cage.... Neatfreak, I guess that's Howdy for you, huh? Then he came across something in his cage, "Now that's weird, I didn't have this in here before." he said to himself. "It looks like a part of a flower..."  
"Yes, it is."  
"Hek?"  
  
Howdy saw Dandy Lion enter his cage. "O-kay, which Comet are you?" Howdy asked.  
"I'm Dandy Lion."  
"Interesting. Well, you're a purty looking yellow hamster."  
"No, I'm dandelion."  
"You said that already."  
Dandy Lion Shook her head, "No, no, no," she began. "I am Dandy Lion, but that's also my color, dandelion."  
"I get it... I think."  
"So what's your name?"  
"I'm Howdy. So Dandy, you don't mind if I call you Dandy, do you?"  
"Not at all."  
"Anyway, how did you find me?"  
"I followed you home."  
"Well why are you here?"  
"Well," the Comet began to blush, "I wanna hold you, and kiss you and squeeze you and cuddle you."  
Wow, she must really like me.....  
"So come here and kiss me."  
"Now hold on there, Dandy, I can't realaly do that right now."  
"And why not?!"  
"Because we just met."  
"Oh, yeah, I knew that. Heheh. I guess rushing off into things is a bad point for me."  
"Is that how you lost to Jam?"  
"You mean The One? No, I lost to him because I lost my patience."  
  
Maxwell Decided to go see Sandy, but when he got there, he saw Sandy and Yami sitting together with Sandy's head on Yami's shoulder. Look at them, look how happy they are, he thought. I guess I would be like that with Sandy If I wasn't so into books.... Ah who cares, I'm going to get my girl back.  
"I had a totally coool time today, Yami." said Sandy.  
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." said Yami, then wrapped his arm around Sandy.  
The tiger ham blushed even further, "We should do this more often."  
"I would like that."  
"I'm sure you would." Maxwell stepped into Sandy's cage.  
"Hey Maxy, how ya' doin?" asked Sandy, "I--Oh wait, don't answer that. You look like a nervous wreck."  
"What's wrong bookworm, ran out of pages to eat or something?" asked Yami, which made Sandy giggle.  
Maxwell walked right up to Yami and backhaded him, "Enough crap, I'm taking my girl back." he said.  
"And how do you plan to do that, by force?"  
"No, I plan on doing it on the battlefield."  
"Well, I see someone's mad because Sandy ditched him for someone who cares about her."  
"I care about Sandy more than you'll ever understand."  
"Well you bookworm, if you're going to issue a duel...." SMACK! "Make sure you use a little force in your swing."  
"OW!"  
"See you at the tournament, bookworm. Oh, by the way, I want to wish you good luck.... cause you'll need every letter of it if you wish to stand a chance against me." And with that, Yami left Sandy's house cackling.  
"Sandy, are you okay?"  
SMACK "What the hell is your problem?" Sandy asked him.  
"OW, not you too."  
"Don't bring rucus to my cage, Maxy. Now get out."  
"But-"  
"Out!"  
  
Pashmina had a visitor as well, but this was after June left to her started study group. "I thought she'd never leave."  
Pashmina turned around to see another Comet. "Who are you?" she asked.  
"The Rad Red, but call me Trav." he answered.  
"Okay Trav."  
"And you must be Pashmina, my sister has told me about you."  
"Don't mention her."  
"Oh be nice, Blossom means no harm."  
"She's trying to steal my boyham, Trav."  
"You mean Poindexter? Bah, I have more smarts than he does."  
"Oh really Trav?"  
"Yup. And if Blossom does take him from you, I'll be here to ease your pain."  
"..... Wow, I don't know what to say."  
"Say you'll give me a chance..."  
"Well, I guess we can be friends for now."  
"Oh good."  
"Anyway, Dexter was telling me a lot of stuff about chocolate today. Did you know they use a gelatin mold to hold the bars together?"  
"Makes sense. What surprises me is that chocolate used to be wrapped in a tobacco leaf and smoked like cigarettes."  
"....That, Dexter didn't tell me."  
"I can tell you much."  
"Then tell me what color you are, 'cause you look a little pink."  
"I'm radical red. I know, it's a very bright tint of the primary red."  
"You know, there are pellets you can eat to darken your coat..."  
"Ate em', only made me lighter."  
Let's talk to Trav on his level now. "So tell me something, you and your family lost to The One, how did you lose?"  
"Well, I was the first to face him. It was wierd because The One only played 'middle road' on me."  
  
Even at the clubhouse, the hams weren't safe from the Crew. "That was great Boss, you are getting better." said Jam.  
"Yup, I have to."  
"Well, it's good to see that--" Jam cut himself off.  
"Hey, Jam, are you okay?"  
Jam simply closed his eyes, "What took you so short?"  
"Uh, Jam, who are you talking to?"  
"Noah."  
"He's here?"  
"Of course I'm here again, Boss." Noah appeared in the clubhouse. "So I see your hearing still keeps its justice... but then again, The One is something else, aren't you?"  
"I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about." said Jam.  
"Don't play cocky with me."  
"I'm not cocky, I just don't know who you're referring too."  
"I'm referring to you, you ass. Now turn around and show your face!"  
"You didn't say please."  
"And you didn't greet me at the door, so that makes us even."  
".....Fair enough, Noah."  
  
Jam turned to see Noah, who wasn't too pleased. "So when did The One begin to take students?" Noah asked.  
"I hae no pupils, except for..... nope, I have no pupils." said Jam. "Oh, and enough of this 'The One' carp already, I have a name you know."  
"Yes, you are The One."  
"Will it kill you so much to call me Jam for once, or are you still pissed because you got beat?"  
"You got lucky against me, that's all."  
"You tried to use my weakness against me and you say I won by luck? Why don't you just admit that you lost fair and square? Oh yeah, that's right... you're a sore ass when it comes to getting a loss."  
"Shut the hell up!"  
"Hey, I won't have you cause the same trouble here that you did at the arcade again, Noah. It's time for you to walk." ordered Boss.  
"I'm not leaving.... yet."  
"You know, since you want to keep calling me 'The One' instead of Jam, I might as well give you a nickname too. How does 'The Whiner' sound to you?" asked Jam.  
"Well that's not--"  
  
Noah threw a punch, but Jam flew over Noah, "You're too slow, Noah." said Jam.  
"And you're too predictable." Noah shot back. That's when Noah quickly turned around, grabbed Jam by the arm, swung him around and threw him across the clubhouse. Jam landed on his back through the table. "Jam..." Tango ran to his aide.  
Noah brushed off his shoulders, "Now I will take my walk." he said as he started to leave. "See you at the tournament, Jam.... Hahahaha!"  
  
Once Boss saw Noah leave, he ran to Jam and helped him sit up slowly. "Are you hurt, Jam?" he asked.  
"That's Noah for you, always the rouge." Jam said.  
"I'll get the needles." said Tango and off she went.  
"That Noah, he'll pay for this." said Boss.  
"No, let him be, he's still angry." said Jam. "Of all the Comets, he still hasn't let it go."  
  
Meanwhile, Howdy and Dandy Lion were making out. Dandy's really sweet, but I can't let this weaken me for the competition. Howdy thought. But... it is nice to know I have someone who likes me.  
Howdy tastes so sweet. thought Dandy Lion, Maybe having him for a boyham wouldn't be so bad. But I have to test him first... She then broke the kiss she was in with Howdy. "Well, I better go, I have to practice." she said.  
"Okay, I'll see you later." and with that, Howdy waved Dandy Lion goodbye.  
  
"So Ice, how well did you fare against Jam?" asked Panda.  
"Even though I lost, I held my own." Ice answered. "However, there was one thing that I had to change..."  
"And what was that?"  
"Until he faced me, he was in a cloak. And since I wanna see my adversaries, I had him take it off."  
"He didn't mention a cloak."  
"Well he had one on."  
"Oh... Well, I'm glad you liked my back rub."  
"I'm glad you like my back rub."  
"I guess this is a see you later?"  
"You said it. Bye-q."  
"Later." And Panda saw Ice out."  
  
Pretty much the same thing happened with all the Comets and hams, whether or not their plans went into effect was uncertain, but the hams weren't fools...  
*  
  
The next day, all the hams came back to the clubhouse. "Are you sure you're gonna be all right, Jam?" asked Boss.  
"No problem," answered Jam, "there's nothind those neddles can't cure." [No, that wasn't spelled wrong.]  
"Hey you guys, what's up?" Sandy was the first of the hams to show up.  
"Jam's been telling us how he started out on the floor." Boss answered. "You missed how he was inspired, but you came back just in time to hear him tell us how he beats The Comet Crew."  
"Hey Jam...." Jam turns to see Pashmina and the rest of the hams. "We wanna have a word with you."  
  
"Sure, what's on your minds?" Jam asked.  
"Those Comets came to see a couple of us the other day and they told us about how they lost against you."  
"...So I take it you don't wanna hear the rest of the story..."  
"We didn't say that, we just want the facts right."  
"Yeah, how come you didn't say that you were cloaked?" questioned Panda.  
"Okay, let's say I did say I came in a cloak, would you have believed me then?"  
"Well, not exactly." answered the hams.  
"Ookyoo." answered Penelope.  
"Of course you wouldn't have, now gather 'round you hams."  
"So Sandy, before Jam goes on, you mind telling us how your day was with Yami?" asked Pashmina.  
"So totally cool, but do all of you want to hear about it?" asked Sandy.  
"Not to sound like a bad guy or anything, but no." Jam answered. "Yami probably put you on the floor to see how well you can gig on it."  
"That's exactly what happened. And speaking of gigging, how come you aren't right now?"  
"Yeah, you've been standing still for way too long..." added Hamtaro.  
"Blame that on Noah." Jam answered. "He made a house call and sent me back first through the table."  
"Coward, now he wants to go back to bullying, that faker sure has a grudge." said Hamtaro.  
"No," Jam said as he took a seat. "Noah hasn't learned to move on from it... the loss that is."  
"Those who do not move on, are damned to be trapped in time." said Snoozer.  
"Nice quote, sleepyhead." said Jam. "You gonna stay awake for this part?"  
"Sure, I can always sleep."  
"Hey Max, you okay?"  
"Don't ask, I'm highly upset right now," Maxwell answered. "But I will hear this story out."  
It serves you right for bringing trouble to my cage. thought Sandy.  
"Anyway, thanks to Panda for helping me remember it, I appeared to the crowd in a shrowd." Jam said as he continued his story. "My first round was an easy one, so I won't bore you with those details. After I went through that round, I watched the rest of the competitors.  
  
"Competition was tough, if not at the top of its game. Just about everyone was taking heavy mode, not me though, I stayed 'middle road' for the prelims. These tourneys hurt more than they helped, even getting a good could mean the difference between survival and getting a cut. Many close calls were had.... and a few draws. But even when both adversaries drained each other's guages, both were elimated. Here, there was no sudden death, unless the judges decided otherwise."  
"They have judges too?" asked Cappy.  
"Of course, but the judges look for other things.... Anyway, After I barely made it throu the prelims, I was watching this hotshot dancer who was very good. Everyone knows her as the Dancing Star. [Don't worry peeps, you'll see her later.] She was good, really good, however, she had a tough time against her opponent. They were neck and neck, but a bad not on the Dancing Star, cost her a ticket to the next round.  
  
Eventually, I had made it to the finals, and after going nonstop, I managed to pull a rabbit from my headset and pulled off the victory, but it was only because my opponent got one great too many."  
"Damn, that's stiff." said Snoozer.  
"Yup."  
"So what happened after you won?" asked Pashmina.  
"You see, that's where you were wrong. I didn't win yet, Pashy, I only made it to the test. 'Well, well, well, it seems our mystery ham has made it to the final task, let give em' a nice round of applause.' said the announcer as cheers rained behind him, all for Jam.  
I just might pull this off. Jam thought. Watch over me, Heat. This is all for you, my friend.  
'Now let's meet your challengers. They are a family of world-class elite Floormasters, ones no other dancer other than the late Heat could touch. Yes everyone, our mystery ham will now go up against... The Comet Crew.'  
  
"And there they were, six of the world's best and I had to face em' each, one by one. And thus, my greatest test begins... Jam thought."  
*  
  
"Finally, we get to the good stuff, now we can finally see which story is better." said Pepper.  
"Um, what's she going off of, Ox?" asked Jam.  
"She had a dream where you had beat these guys and now she wants to see if the real thing can bet the surreal thing." Oxnard answered.  
"You handled that one nicely."  
"Pepper said it like that, I just remembered it."  
"Enough about that surreal crap, get down to the matches already." said Stan.  
"Right. The Comet Crew looked at me and circled me like sharks, which that day they pretty much were. It didn't scare me however, but they did make me sweat. It was our first encounter, after all... 'So this is the one who came all this way, just to get beat by us...' said Yami.  
'He doesn't look so tough.' said Blossom.  
'Careful sister, appearances are usually a deception.' said Noah.  
'Even so, he still doesn't look like... what's the word... competition to me.' said Ice.  
'He's competition... if he made it this far he better be, anyway.' said Dandy Lion.  
'For someone who beat everybody else, he sure doesn't look like a champion.' said Trav and all six Comets began to laugh.  
  
"They had me there at that time, but it only made me sweat even more. 'Okay brothers and sisters, let's end this guys excitement and get him on the floor.' said Trav.  
'Do you have any last words?' asked Yami.  
'Yes,' Jam answered, then replied cockily, 'I sure hope you guys have lots of fun with me."  
"Did Jam actually say that?" asked Cappy.  
"Yes, Jam actually said that." answered Sandy. "You got laughed at too dindn't you, Jam?"  
"Yeah, they laughed at me, but not just the comets, but everyone laughed at me, even the crowd."  
"How rude." said Bijou.  
"Non, petite Bijou, they just didn't think I could pull off a victory over all of them. Some people in the crowd were even placing bet that I wouldn't even get through half of them, others said I would even get through the first one."  
"So much for having faith." said Stan.  
"That's exactly what I thought, so even though in my mind this was my last stand, I was brave through it. 'So wich of you elite do I have to silence first?' asked Jam. 'I don't take kindly to being ridiculed, especially in fron to large crowds.'  
'We have yet to mock you, besides, you wanted us to have fun with you.' said Yami.  
'Hee, hee, hee, I forgot.'  
'You're nuts, but you're a gutsy wack job. I'll be the one to end your misery.' said Trav.  
'And you are...'  
'I am Trav, but you are to refer to me as Rad Red.'  
'Funny, you look a little like a 'Pinky' to me, blip-blip-blip.'  
'Ha ha, let's see how far you can run from me, Pac Man."  
"Pac Man, I get it." said Howdy with a chuckle. "That's rich."  
"How-dy?" yelled the other hams.  
"Sorry, go ahead Jam."  
  
"Anyway, Trav was the first one I faced. 'Rad Red' started us off with Dead End. Our settings were pretty much even: speed x2, freeze off, however, I played 'middle road' while he went heavy. This brought a lot of comotion from people, even the comets. 'Standard, you're gonna battle me on standard?' Trav questioned.  
'And...' Jam said.  
'You really must not want this.'  
'Hey, it got me here, so cut some slack.'  
'It may have got you here, but it won't help you win.'  
Whatever.  
  
The music began to play and Trav and Jam started to move accordingly. He must be nuts, either that, or he thinks I'm a joke. thought Trav."  
"That's not right, why would you play on a level lower than his?" asked Stan.  
"I knew that the Crew was strong, so I decided to 'scout' what I had in store for me." answered Jam. "The first song was a nice touch, but Trav had a higher grade than me."  
"You wanted that to happen, right?" asked Sandy.  
"Of course.  
'I hope you do better on the next song.' said Trav.  
'Pinky's never heard of a warm-up.' Jam said.  
'Well, since you lost that song, you get to pick.'  
  
"The next song I picked was Butterfly, but it wasn't until the song began that I found out that it was the sped up x4 version and that stung me. 'I had to pick the fast one...' Jam said.  
'Pitiful, just pitiful. How the hell did you make it to us?' Trav asked. 'Everyone must've had sympathy for you because of Heat. This is just sad, I mean look at you... at this rate, you'll defeat yourself. Heat was a fool to think you could take his place.'  
"Trav actually hurt me on that one. And to make things even worse, the crowd began to boo at me.... I guess they agreed with Trav. The guards tried to calm down the crowd as Trav and I continued to run the floor. After a while, I picked up my pace and managed to tie with Trav."  
"Well, now that you're mad, what did you do next?" asked Snoozer.  
"I picked the last song.... one that on the machine we have here in the clubhouse, NTM.  
  
'I'll say this for you Pinky, you sure know how to try and break a guy's spirit with trash talking." said Jam.  
'Hey, I'm just speaking the truth.' said Trav. 'There's no way everyone else could've lost to you without having any sympathy towards Heat. But I'll say this, You aren't champion material like I said before. How many people in the crowd wanna see me thrash this wannabe on the next song?'  
'I do!' yelled the crowd.  
'Hurry and seal this coffin, loser.'  
'Enough of this, it's time I made you shut the hell up.'  
'What-ever, just pick your song.'  
"And picked the song I did... Xenon. I only did this song on light, but not on standard, so this was a first for me. Even though I stayed middle road, I slowed the speed to 1.5 while Trav kept it at two speed. And the song began."  
  
Jam walked over tho the floor in the clubhouse and chose Xenon from the tracks and played it. "This songs sounds fast." said Hamtaro.  
"Those were the exact words that Trav said and the round began." said Jam. "This time, I was out to prove him wrong.... I knew one thing I had to do on this stage, by the end of the first chorus, max out the guage. Though I wasn't maxed out, I was close enough to it. That's when the hell began... 'Look at those steps, this guy sure picked one hell of a song.' said Ice.  
'Too bad he's not doing so well.' said Yami, he's just barely holding on.'  
'There you go destroying yourself again.' said Trav. 'Serves you right for picking a song you can't do.'  
'Keep talking, Pinky, keep up the blipping.' said Jam.  
'He's doing this on a song he never even done before, this is gutsy.' said Yami.  
'No, just foolish.' said Noah. It's going to cost him in the end.  
'Drain his guage, brother. Finish him off, he doesn't deserve to face the rest of us.'  
'Will do, brother.' said Trav.  
Gotcha, fell right for my trap."  
"Trap? What trap?" asked a confused Pepper. "Those steps look tough for you."  
  
"They were, but as much as Trav tried to wittle my guage, I was slowly at a boo's rate, emptying his guage while surviving. It wasn't until later on that they had caught it. 'Something's wrong, it doesn't look like this guy's guage isn't going anywhere.' said Yami.  
'Trav, your guage, be careful.' said Dandy Lion.  
'Huh.... Aaaaah, my guage, how did it get that low?' Trav was shocked.  
'Stay focused, you can always raise your guage.' reassured Noah.  
I know... but i was hitting at least greats, how could I have had my guage emptied so much? Trav wondered.  
'It's amazing that a stream of perfect notes and a few marvelous one can do to your opponent in a battle.' said Jam. 'But don't worry, this song is almost over.'  
'I'll get you for that.'  
'Worry about me later, raise your guage now.'  
"Trav took my advice and was able to raise his guage back, too bad he kept up with the blip-blip-blip-blip-blip-blip. 'At this rate, the end of this song is gonna be a breeze.' said Trav.  
'Yup, it's been a pleasure dancing with you.' said Jam.  
'It's been a pleasure to end your journey too.'  
  
"What Trav didn't realize what that Xenon has two tricky parts to it; one right after the first chorus and and even harder on at the very end. And even though Trav had a healthy guage coming into the home stretch, he soon learned that this workout hat tricks up its sleeve. 'This is bad.' said Trav.  
'Tough it out, Pinky.' said Jam.  
"Both of us were at the edge of our guage and the last step me missed, and it drained his guage, but I barely held on and made it through. 'No way, that's just.... No way!' Trav yelled.  
'Trav, what happened there man?' asked Blossom. 'You were doing greeeat, but your guage drained on the last beat. How did that happen?'  
'I don't even know.'  
Hearing this, all I did was laugh. 'You don't know why you lost, Pinky?' asked Jam. 'I find that hard to believe.' and Jam laughed further.  
'And you know...' said Trav.  
'There were three reasons why you lost: 1) because you misjudged your competition. 2) You tried to read the steps of the song before they came to you, only to find out you were incredibly wrong. And 3) you were just too cocky for your own good. Maybe it you spend more time reading the steps and stepping accordingly instead of going blip-blip-blip at the mouth, you probably would have made it through and beat me. That is why you lost."  
"Hmf, 'The cockiest chicken is the first to the axe.'" said Snoozer.  
"Show you rye, Snoozer."  
"So what happened next?" asked Pashmina.  
"I was given a ten minute break."  
  
Toon in next chapter for then next beat down........................... NOT!  
  
"In the bathroom, there were five what I call, stand-n-piss things open and I take the middle one. Yami and Noah take the ones and block me in. 'Don't get too ahead of yourself because you got lucky.' said Yami.  
'And make sure you up your ante, our sister won't be beaten on standard.' Noah added.  
'I'll take you guys' advice.' said Jam. 'But you guys really need to know courtesy about these stalls here. You two are supposed to take the corners, not the next ones to me.... or do you wanna see my impressive package?' Yami and Noah moved away from Jam. "Good, I knew you guys weren't like that." Jam simply washed his paws and left.  
"This is where he faces Dandy." said Howdy.  
"Don't ruin the story." said Stan.  
"He's right," said Jam. "I face Dandy Lion next and I wrap up quick work of her too. Once I took stage, I had her pick the first song. The song didn't get me though, but the name of the song did.  
  
'Please to be explaining this choice of song." said Jam.  
'What's wrong, can't do it?' asked Dandy Lion.  
'It's not that, it's just.... the song is called Little Bitch.' [I'm not trying to be funny peeps, that's the name of the actual song. Play DDR Extreme.]  
'So...'  
'The song is called, Little Bitch.'  
'What, are you calling me a-'  
'Careful, there are children present.'  
'Just select your style, okay.'  
"Speed x2, heavy, no freeze. The only difference was that Dandy Lion had the scroll on reverse.... Meaning the notes came to the bottom of the screen. I'll spare you the details and just say that we tied the song. So I wanted to choose the next song and she got mad, but I told her she could have the last song. Too bad we didn't get that far, however, Dandy Lion couldn't survive Captain Jack. At the beginning of the song, Dandy Lion's temper only clouded her concentration as she kept getting goods. 'Come on, knock this off.' she said.  
'You have such a temper for a young lady.' said Jam.  
'Shut the hell up.'  
'Lips are zipped for the song.  
  
"Despite her temper, she managed to pull it together, until the last part. Dandy wasn't too dandy since her guage drained five seconds before the end of the song. 'What a rip, I got screwed.' said Dandy Lion.  
'What screwed you was your temper, young sunny.' said Jam. 'A cool head always stays focused, young flower. Anger only steers you to defeat. Now if you'll excuse me, I have ten minutes to sit and catch a breather.'  
"And that's exactly what I did."  
  
Sorry folks, I have to cut this here. I actually wanted to put all six down in this chapter, but this chapter alone is eating my floppy space. Oopsie !^_^ More Comet Crew beatdowns next chap, so say your piece. 


	8. the Crew and I pt 2

"With a third of the Comets down, me second ten minute break was all about planning." Jam continnued his story after the hams had their bathroom break. "I decided to grab a cold drink as I startined to think about how I would face the nexd two challenges ahead of me. Thre crowd also seemed to chang their views on me as well, which helped a lot. 'Two down, four to go, this won't be easy.' said Jam.  
The Comet Crew were also deciding on how to take Jam down. 'I'll give him credit, he sure seems confident now.' said Trav.  
'You see, looks are always a deception.' said Noah. 'You can't jdge a book by his cover.... or in this case, its cloak.'  
'Well that cloak is coming off.' said Ice. 'I'll face him next and we'll see how well he fares against me.'  
Keep watching over me, Heat. I'm doing this for you." Jam thought.  
"You know, you sure sound like a chivalrous ham, Jam." said Boss.  
"I just don't forget my friends, even when they are lost."  
"So what happened after your break?" asked Panda.  
"Well, I stepped up to the floor with much more confidence. 'I'm glad you guys are enjoying my competitive spirit. This means a lot to me, you know.' said Jam.  
'That's nice, but it's time to change the pace here.' said Blossom.  
'Meh, I'll keep my cool head, thank you.'  
'Really, then let's find out just how cool you can stay.' Ice said and she stepped up to Jam.  
'So who might you be?'  
'I am Ice, Princess of the Arctic.'  
'...Interesting. So what do you have in store for me, majesty?'  
'I'm going to test you to see how cool you can remain. But before we go on, I wanna see my adversary, so please to be removing your cloak.'  
'Okay, sure.'  
  
"With that I took off my hood and showed them who I was. Ice was shocked to see that I was the breed that I am. 'Little Miss Chilly' changed the pace of things as far as getting past her, because she didn't choose the same route as the rest of the crew. No..... my face-off against Ice was Nonstop."  
"Nonstop huh, I never tried that mode." said Hamtaro.  
"What is Nonstop mode?" asked Cappy.  
"Nonstop mode is pretty much how it sounds. You chose a theme which has its own preselected songs and you go through each one continuously, withought having to catch a breather."  
"Sounds tough." said Pashmina.  
"They were, especially since the songs she chose had plenty plenty chaos to them.  
'Well now, let's see how cool you really are.' said Ice.  
'That was a bad pun.' said Jam.  
'That wasn't my intention.'  
  
"Just this once, I decided to put the freeze on, to match her theme and off the round began."  
  
====================================================  
  
Before I go on, I would like to pretty much give you guys some insight on where this story will go. Just like in the prequel, I'm going to have you guys vote on who should go on in the new battles just like in "Love battles on the floor" so everyone gets to say their piece. Before the battles take place, send in your reviews who you would like to see go onto the next round. Just like before, you'll decide their future fates. Also, I would like to thank my peeps for still sticking with me this far. Remember, this is for you guys, what what you guys think. Now on with the story and thank- q for you patience... which is virtue.  
  
====================================================  
  
"The first song wasn't too bad, but it was frustrating since I had the freeze on. I would hit the note but sometimes, I would have to sacrifice the freeze to hit another step. 'If you keep this up, you won't make it to the next song.' said Ice.  
'I'm glad you're concerned about me.' Jam said.  
'Don't be cute.'  
'Of course not, I just have lots of charm.  
"That, you do have." said Pashmina.  
"Thanks Pashy. Anyway, I barely made it out of the first song. 'Man that was a little too close.'  
'It's over, you're finished,' said Ice, 'but at least you took out a third of us, so be a proud loser.'  
'Someone didn't learn from Pinky, well we'll see.'  
  
"Sadly, Ice was right, I couldn't recover from it much and I was struggling. I already knew I lost, so I just decided to keep going and take my defeat. 'Only a miracle can save me now.' said Jam.  
'Nothing can save you, you lost.' said Ice.  
"That was when it happened..."  
"A miraculous comeback?" asked the girls all starry eyed.  
"She messed up, big time?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Nope, the power went out." Jam answered.  
  
All the hams fell over. [LOL ^_^ ] "The power went out?" asked Cappy.  
"You lucky little shit!" yelled Sparkle.  
"That exactly what Yami said." said Jam. "Man, you couldn't believe how mad Ice was.... and I don't blame her. She had me beat too, I'll admit it. I took a deep breath and sighed. 'Oh well, I guess I better tell her that I lost so she doesn't get mad any further.' Jam said with his head held down.  
  
After the power turned back on, Jam addressed Ice. 'Okay princess, you win.' said Jam. 'I'll admit it, if the power didn't go off, i'd have lost.'  
'No way, I'm not taking such a fluke for a victory.' said a still POed Ice. 'You're not gonna use the pity route to escape a beatdown, we're starting over.'  
'I thought to you guys that a win was a win, no matter what?'  
'Just cause I was about to beat you and the power went out to save your hide, doesn't mean this is over.'  
'But-'  
'Look. Sure I can take this victory, but it won't have any merit. You can come back next time and face me and say, 'The only reason why you beat me last time is because I was gonna lose and the power went out before my defeat.' If you think I'm taking that, then you've lost it, now get up here so we can start over.'  
'But I-'  
'I don't need a power outtage to beat you, I can do it on my own.'  
'Fine then, we'll start over."  
"Well, at least you're honest, Jam." said Stan.  
"Yup, but she wanted to prove that she could beat me, so we started over.  
  
"This time, though, I turned the freeze off and faced her ham to ham."  
"Yeah, you rock." said Cappy.  
"Nope, I roll. 'This time, a power outtage won't save you.' said Ice.  
'Are you sure you wanna do this?' Jam asked. 'You could just-'  
'I said we're starting over!'  
'As you wish, m'lady.'  
"So we started over again, but she chose a different song theme. Our nonstop match was a good one, out steps were matched, but I notice by the way she was hitting the beats that Ice was still mad. On the last song, she still didn't take my advice on freezing over, and it cost her at the very end of the final song. She lost as I completed the last part. 'Oh well, I guess I really couldn't win after all.' said Ice and she started to cry. 'It's not fair, I should've won.'  
'I told you to take the victory I gave you, but your competitive spirit told you to do it the other way.' said Jam. 'I repect that and am sad for you, but after that incident, you not only melted, but you also boiled to steam. For someone who refers to herself as an Ice Princess, you really need to keep your cool better.'  
'I guess you're right.'  
'So get up and wipe those tears, besides, it's just a game."  
"Is this the part where Yami and Noah scold you about this not being a game?" asked Panda.  
"Yup. But I just brushed it off and took my ten."  
  
*  
  
"So Jam, who was next to get beat?" asked Cappy.  
"With half of the team gone, Blossom decided to test her skill against me." answered Jam. "Of all the Comet Sisters, Blossom is the most graceful, as she tends to be incredibly light on her feet. She literally slid on those steps. To be honest, she thought that Ice had tired me out and decided to test my skill as well. The first song had a japanese symbols to it, so I didn't know what the song was. 'Let's see if you can chain properly.' said Blossom.  
'Okay.' said Jam.  
'Good luck, and stay great.'  
  
"I didn't know what she meant by that, but I soon found out as the song began. As we stepped through this song, Blossom and her graceful running of the floor made sure every step she took was perfect or marvelous. There was the occasional great, and that was rare. Such form in her steps, though she doesn't seem like it, Blossom is pretty formidable. Jam thought. She's gonna be tougher than I thought.  
'You have too many greats, my rival.' said Blossom. 'You won't win with them.'  
"And she was right. Sure I got a 'B' rank, but Blossom... 'SS' rank."  
"Double 'S' rank, whoa." said Pashmina. This could be a problem for me, even I can't get that high of a ranking.....  
"Blossom must be totally skilled." said Sandy.  
"Next, she chose a favorite of mine, Hero... only it was speed x4. Also, she set it up so it was on vanish. But that was one I know by heart, so I put mine on memory."  
"So how does memory work?" asked Pepper. "We all know about vanish?"  
"On memory, you don't even see the notes, they don't even show up, it's like dancing to the stage blind."  
"That's some kind of skill, sugar."  
"Yup. And you get more points on memory as well.  
  
'You must really be desperate to go all out like this.' said Blossom.  
'No, there is only one thing that can counter grace, and I plan on using it.' said Jam.  
'I'm from Missouri, so show me.'  
'Does everybody use a variation of that pun, geez?"  
"Yes, many people do use it." answered Maxwell.  
"Thanks.  
  
"Anyway, Blossom was still hitting everything perfectly, however, grace can't do anything when it comes to memory. Not only was I making the chain, every step I made was marvelous just about. 'That's not possible, even I'm not that good.' said Blossom.  
Jam just sang to the steps. 'Dah dee dee dah dah, you are my he-ro. Dah dee dee dah dah, oh whoa-oh. Dah dee dee dah dah, you are my he-ro, dah dee dee dah dah....'  
'Noah, we can't let him take us to that song.' said Yami.  
'I agree, that cannot pass.' said Noah.  
"When the scores came up, we both had the 'SS' rank, but my score was higher. That, and I only had three perfects, the rest was marvelous. The crowd was on their feet now. 'You can't be real.' said Blossom.  
'But I'm all real.' said Jam. 'One can be as graceful as possible, but a strong memory beats all. And since it's my turn to pick, hope and pray my other song from memory isn't on here.'  
  
"So I searched the list and then I found it... not the song that I was looking for, but an even worse one. I chose it and headed to the settings, which I left mine alone. 'Pick, your poison, Blossom. I'm about to pluck your petals.' said Jam.  
'Oh boy...' was all Blossom could say.  
'Brother, I'm back.' Yami rejoined Noah's side. 'Which song did he pick?'  
'Speed Freaks,' answered Noah. 'And he plans on doing it from memory.'  
'You can't be serious....'  
'He is.'  
'This is bad, brother. Blossom may be graceful, but even she can't keep up with this song.'  
'Hope and pray.'  
'She's finished.' said Trav.  
'I hope that grace of yours has speed to it, because this isn't for the slow." said Jam.  
  
Jam walked over and switched the machine to Speed Freaks. "Now I want all of you to watch how this song works, because there are three blitzes in it."  
"Right." said Stan.  
"It's not so bad, I actually like the music to this one." said Pashmina.  
"Just watch and listen, Pashy. This isn't all that it's cracked up to be. 'Is this the best that this song has to offer? No sweat.' said Blossom.  
'Yeah,' said Jam, 'well here comes a blitz, so let's see how well you fare."  
The hams saw the first blitz. "Sweet mother of pumpkin pie." said Pepper.  
"Damn, that's nasty." said Stan.  
"That would give me a heart attack." said Oxnard.  
"And you did this from memory?" asked Boss. "You really know how to bury someone in steps."  
"Why did you do this one for?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Three reasons: To test Blossom's gracefulness at speed; To see if Blossom could chain it all; and to send a message to Yami and Noah that when I mean business, that I mean business. 'Damn, I'm worn.' said Blossom. 'That blitz was a bitch.'  
'Too bad, there are still two more blitzes left.' said Jam.  
'Two more?!'  
'Show you rye.'  
'That's not good.'  
'I hope your brothers are taking notes...'  
  
"After a while, the second blitz came and it was worse than the first as you can see."  
"Holy..." said Sparkle.  
"Man, remind me not to get on your bad side." said Boss.  
"I'm sure glad you didn't have me and Boss do this song, Bijou." said Hamtaro.  
"I don't want to kill you." said Bijou.  
"Did Blossom make it through this blitz, Jam?" asked Dexter.  
"Nope." answered Jam. "And Blossom was in shock. Yami had to come and take her from the floor. 'You're next, buddy, so be prepared to lose.' said Jam.  
'What's that last blitz like?' asked Yami.  
'It's coming up, so take notes."  
The hams saw the final blitz and their chins dropped. Oh yeah, definitely keeping off Jam's bad side. thought Boss.  
  
"Wow, You guys look like your jaws are about to fall off." said Jam. "That's exactly how I left everyone at that day. Except for Blossom, when she saw this blitz, she fainted." Jam had a hearty laugh. "Don't get it wrong you hams, I scored an 'A' on this stage and the judges gave me a twenty minute break after it."  
  
"........................................................................... ....."  
"Are you guys okay, you aren't frozen, are you?"  
"There is now way in hell you could've done that song from memory and gotten an 'A' on it. That's just not possible!" exclaimed Stan.  
"I did, Stan, I did."  
"You can't be from Earth." [Hmmm, which ham should I have say this? Whatever ham the reader thinks. XD ]  
Jam fell on the floor laughing in tears.  
  
I'm sorry you guys, I can't finish the rest of this. I'm still laughing that my kidneys hurt. XD LMAO, Review! 


	9. the Crew and I pt 3

Okay, let's have some announcements: First off, to those who go to mediaminer and look at my stories, Love and Breeding is completed so enjoy your reading pleasure. Second, if you haven't read it already, The Hamham's Lament is done, but if you aren't prepared for the last chapter, it will disturb you like it did another reader. There is powerful mythology in its setup. Third, keep an eye out for the story, "Stronger Without You" peeps, as it will be a little bit of that "Drama fo yo Mamma" deal. If it sucks at first, bear with me, I'm not the dramatic type. I'll only say this preview, it's a Sandy/Maxwell story. Finally, don't vote for tournament winners until it's time, peeps. I know you're all anxious to get there and yes it's on it's way. I have to find another disk to save it on because this story might take up the rest of the space. Now with all that said and done, please remember to save and breed your hamsters. Now on to more Comet Crew beatdowns.  
  
"Jam, are you okay?" asked Hamtaro.  
Jam was still on the floor crying and laughing in tears. "Me... not from Earth..... make it stop." he cried as he laughed.  
"If you're done humorously losing your mind," Sandy began, "I would like to totally hear the rest of the story, Jam."  
"Okay... okay... it's not funny anymore." Jam finally sat up and gained composure. "Now where was I... Oh that's right, I remember now... After the break, I stepped up to the floor and Yami and Noah came to greet me. 'Well, come on up here, you can't be scared now...' said Jam.  
'No, not at all.' said Noah. 'But this is where your journey starts to end.'  
'I'm impressed.'  
'Relax dear brother,' said Yami, 'while he had his break, I thought of the perfect plan. Just watch how effective it works.'  
'You better know what you're doing.' said Noah.  
'Of course I do.'  
'Take him down, Yami.'  
  
"And Yami stepped up to the plate. 'Yami huh? You sure don't seem like it to me.' said Jam.  
'You dissing my name?' asked Yami.  
'Of course not, you just don't seem like the type of person to have such a name like that. Das all.'  
'How so?'  
'Well, Yami means 'Dark' or 'Darkness' and you seem more like the positive type. But, I could be wrong.'  
'Well, I've learned one thing from you, Jam; I've learned that even you can't repeat your own judgement."  
"Lemme guess, Yami chose Speed Freaks as the first song?" asked Stan.  
"Show you rye, and Yami wanted to see if 'lightning strikes twice in the same place' as he so put it. 'I thought that you would've learned from your sister's mistake.' said Jam.  
'I have.' said Yami.  
"And the song began. Yami quickly and easily filled up his guage and started to work on slowly wittling down mine."  
"Blah, blah, blah, get to the blitz."  
"Stan?!" everyone yelled.  
"We already heard about this song, get to the blitz."  
"Stan, that's rude." said Pashmina.  
"Rude, but it makes a strong argument." said Jam. "Anyway, during the first blitz, Yami proved that he learned as the first half of that blitz he hit marvelously, which really put a major dint in my guage. Man, this isn't kosher.... Jam thought. If this keeps up, i might not be around for a while.  
'Hah ha, look who's lost his energy." said Yami.  
"That not nice." said Tango.  
"I just shrugged it off. 'It'll take more than that to stop me, I don't drop like a rock on one of my songs.' said Jam.  
'No, but your guage sure did.' said Yami.  
  
"He really tried beating me with mind games and trash talking, but I only used it positive mannerly, turning it into fuel for guage building. Believe me, Yami came close on many an occasion to draining my guage. And even though I was tired, I still managed to SAVE my guage. 'And just how long will this go on until you just give up and let your guage empty?' asked Yami.  
'Once you lose.' Jam answered with a gasp of air following his response.  
'Your loss...'  
"I was able to get my guage back in shape for the second blitz. Yami took seven straight boos and started going great. At this point I was only trying to stay until the end of the song."  
"Yami sounded really tough." said Panda.  
"Yes, but I also noticed that Speed Freaks was also taking its toll on Yami. 'Look at whose pooped out now.' said Jam.  
'I'm not the only one.' said Yami.  
'I know you don't mean me, I just got my second wind.'  
"Little did I know, I actually got it just in time for the third blitz. Yami couldn't get through this one though, as he guage drained. But I was also drained, but kept on going."  
  
"So you finished the song?" asked Cappy.  
"Nope, the power went out again. however, that wasn't the only blackout....."  
  
"When I reopened my eyes, I saw that the EMTs were dealing with me. I had passed out during the power outtage. 'Hey, are you okay?' asked the paramedic.  
'Yeah, just needed a breather.' Jam answered.  
'I knew you couldn't do it twice.' said Yami.  
'You whiner. Youre guage drained before the power outtage, therefore, you lose.'  
'True, but if the power didn't go out, you'd have collapsed in the middle of the song... and you have to finish it in order to move on.'  
'Figured you'd say something that cowardly. You're just mad that the thunderbolt repeated itself. Just admit that you lost.... or are you as stubborn as Ice over there?"  
"Yeah, you tell em' who's boss, Jam."  
"Cappy?!" everyone else yelled.  
"Oopsie, got caught up in the moment. Go on, Jam."  
"So after I had my break, which was on the oxygen tank, up to the floor I stepped. And of Course, Noah was there to greet me.  
  
'I must say, you really had me astounded.' Noah began. 'I knew you weren't what you looked and you've proven that theory. However, this is the end of the line.'  
'Ah, that is so true.' said Jam. 'But, now that I made it, I want to make sure I have a good time.'  
'Good time... This is war, and war isn't fun.'  
Jam shook his head. 'That's the difference between you and me, I know that this is only a game.'  
'This is more than just a mere game. Prepare to go down."  
"He's got lots of issues." said Sandy.  
"He's really locked up tight." said Stan.  
"Tighter than a virgin pussy on Sunday morning." said Howdy.  
SMACK! "Next time, you'll taste metal across your mouth." said Boss.  
"Geez, it was just a joke-"  
"Well it was uncalled for."  
"Okay, Jam. Not to be the pooper of this tale, but can we skip to the part after you beat Noah?" asked Cappy. "It's starting to take too long, this story is."  
"No way, I wanna hear this part." said Pashmina.  
"No shorcuts." said Tango.  
"....Moving on," Jam said, "Noah set up the challenge mode. Challenge mode is pretty much like nonstop, but there is one very inportant difference...... life. Your guage is starts out at full and every time you miss, the guage goes down. Even with successful hits, the guage only goes higher after you finish a song, and then it only gives you half. This was pretty much a test of seeing who could survive all eight songs with a higher grade. Since Cappy is so anxious, as a rotting apple, I will say it like this: Noah was tough and we both made it through, but I ended up with a better grade by one perfect note."  
"I bet he was really mad." said Stan.  
"He was, and was very close to throwing a tantrum."  
"Okyoo, okyoo, okwee?" asked Penelope.  
"Yes Little One, after the Comets presented me with the ribbon, they also handed me one of their shirts and asked if I wanted to join their crew. 'I'll pass, thanks.' Jam answered.  
'Pass... why?' asked Yami.  
'Because you guys take this way too seriously, especially how you all battled me, I saw it. But don't worry, it's just a game."  
  
"You should've joined them." said Hamtaro, maybe they wouldn't be so bad like they are..."  
"True, but they just didn't get it." said Jam. "It was later that day, that I saw my words were true. Not even three hours after our matches, they were on the floor with their intense training. All six of them were upset, and their steps showed their anger. All of this I found out by simple observation of them. 'Can you believe the nerve of that guy? He turned our offer down!' Yami saw very mad.  
'He'll pay for picking such a messed up song against me.' said Blossom.  
'I'm not pink, I'm radical red.' said an angry Trav.  
'That Jam is really foolish. calling this a game.' said Yami. 'This is no game, it's a field of battle.'  
'So true.' agreed Ice. 'That Jam will pay.'  
'Enough, I am tired of hearing that fool's name.' said Noah.  
'Then what are we gonna do she we hafta mention his name?' asked Trav.  
'From this moment forward, he will be refered to as 'The One' my brothers and sisters.' said Noah.  
'Understood.' said the rest of the Comets.  
'And when next we meet on the floor, we shall see that this insult goes unanswered.'  
'Yeah, that rookie beat us so badly, it's not fair.' said Trav.  
  
"I just left and kicked it for the night. As the morning came, I went to catch some mackleberry malt when I saw a very POed Noah with a crumbled newspaper in his paws. 'These damn tabloids, they mock us.' said Noah.  
'Yeah, we didn't get slaughtered like they have in print.' said Trav.  
'Bastards, the media is a pack of sniveling, false pretense using hounds. I can't even read this trash without getting upset.' said Yami.  
'Look at this crap, it makes my blood boil.' said Dandy Lion. 'Where is my Crazy Blade at?'  
'We left them remember?' reminded Ice.  
"I tailed it without being noticed to find a paper and man were the Comets right. The tabloids just turned a simple task into a total onslaught of things. I didn't wipe the floor with the Comets, beat them each yes, but dominated them, not at all. The paper and the other forms of media said it like the Comet Crew didn't even stand a chance. Because of this, they were ridiculed by almost everyone. It's sad how the media can tarnish your reputation.... especially since the ball of the pen can slice the thickest blade."  
"So very true." said Snoozer.  
"And that's the story folks. So, let's get you hams on the floor."  
"Yeah." cheered all the girls.  
"You guys go on ahead, I'll go last." said Maxwell.  
"No problem." said Hamtaro.  
  
Maxwell returned to his room with all his books and readables. "Man, that was a very interesting story Jam said to us." he said to himself. "I wish I had that much stamina."  
"That wish would actually come true if you actually worked on it." said Jam.  
"Wah, you scared me."  
"Okay Max, what's the real reason you don't get on the floor?"  
"I get on the floor, it's just that I go last."  
"You haven't been on that floor ever."  
"That's not true! I've been on the floor, it's just that I'm still beginning on it."  
"So you mean to tell me that after all this time, you're still considering yourself as a novice dancer?"  
"Yeah."  
"..... Let's go."  
"But I have work to do."  
"It can wait." Jam took Maxwell's wrist and walked out to the floor with the bookworm. "Hey, clear the floor you hams, Maxwell's going first."  
"But I'm in the middle of picking my song." whined Stan.  
"Get off the floor."  
"Okay, I'm going."  
"Jam, what are you doing?" asked Maxwell.  
"Get up there, Max, you're gonna run that there floor now." Jam answered.  
"But it's on hard."  
"No excuses, Max. and since the song's on Black Cat, you can do that one."  
"But it's on hard."  
"If Penelope can get an 'A' on this song on hard, then so can you."  
"Will you please tell me why I'm doing this?"  
"You said you know how to step on these floors, so prove it to me. that, and since you not an intermediate like the rest are at least, it time you leveled up."  
"But Jam-"  
"Pay attention, the song's starting."  
  
Maxwell just sighed and moved to the song. It was over in fifteen seconds, "Are you happy now?" asked Maxwell.  
"Nope." Jam answered, "I heard you whine about it on hard, so you're going to play it on easy."  
"You must be joking."  
"No, I'm quite serious, now let's move."  
  
Maxwell then played Black Cat on easy. Since the first song on easy doesn't let you fail it, Maxwell had no choice but to play it through. After he was done, he had a nice fat 'F' for a grade. With that seen, Jam walked away from the floor. "You can step off of the floor now, Max." he said. "Stan, reset it and take your turn."  
"Sure dude." said Stan.  
"Hey Sandy, I just wanna say that you should think about breeding your kids with Yami. Maxwell has proven his worthlessness to me, so it's not wise to fancy him any further."  
"Jam, this behavior of yours is very uncalled for." said Boss.  
"What is uncalled for is a dishonest heart. Maxwell clearly said that he was a novice at this game when he has shown that he's never even stepped foot on any floor in his life. What Max and Sandy are about to find out was that I witnessed the whole event of when Yami and Max were at Sandy's the other day. If Max plans to make an ass of himself in trying to beat Yami come tournament time, then let him do it on his own. It's obvious that he wants no help from me, let alone anyone else on how to run these floors.  
  
"Maybe it he put less attention into those books and more time in on practicing, he probably would have some merit.... but I guess that's why he cowars behind all those books. Good Luck in your match when it comes, Max. The gods' help is all that you could hope for."  
  
With that, Jam left the clubhouse and many other hams confused. "I'd ask, but I don't think I want to know." said Hamtaro. 


	10. Boss' friend and a reluctant bookham

Okay folks, one more new ham coming in here, this one belongs to Yasha. Enjoy my peeps.  
  
Later that day, Maxwell went home early. I guess he didn't feel like staying, but whatever the reason, he just went back to the bookstore. As the other hams continued to get better, everyone was having a good time. "Okay Boss, it's your turn on the floor now." said Stan.  
"You hams go ahead, I have a few errands to run." Said Boss. "I trust that you all can behave yourselves while I'm gone...."  
"No problem." said the other hams.  
"Well then, bbl." and with that, Boss left. What Boss never told the hams was that this is how he decided to practice. So he went to the Ham Arcade at the fun park. Once there, he looked around for any famliar faces, which he saw none of, and decided to train. "Now, how to start...."  
"Pom Pom Pom is a good starter, try there."  
"Sure no problem.... wait a minute."  
  
Boss turned around to see a brown female hamster with black stripes on her coat. "Um, is there something I can help you with?" Boss asked.  
"No, just wondering if I could shadow you." she answered.  
"Sure, no problem."  
"Thanks."  
"Before we go on, let's be known by the other. I'm Boss, what's your name?"  
"My name is Hamina. It's a pleasure to meet you, Boss."  
"Same to you, Hamina."  
"So, where are you going to start?"  
"....Moga Moga sounds nice."  
  
It didn't take long for Boss and Hamina to hit it off perfectly, but chicks dig fellas that are good on their feet. After their routine, Boss and Hamina had a nice lunch together. "You aren't too bad, Boss, I'm impressed." said Hamina.  
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." said Boss.  
"You should sign up for the tournament."  
"I would, but I don't have a partner."  
"That's a bummer. I'd be your partner for that, but I already signed up for the singles competition."  
"I think I'll do just that."  
"You should.... and who knows, we can cheer each other on too."  
"Hey, that would be great."  
"Well, you better get signed up then, this is the last day for the singles sign ups."  
"Well, I better get registered then."  
  
Meanwhile, Maxwell was at home reading one of his books, the book of all the different dance routines the he made. It was on the same day the hams practiced these steps when they met Jam. I can't believe that Jam would insult me like that. he thought. In front of everyone to boot too, man, that really hurts your pride.  
"So you finally showed up, huh?" Maxwell turned to see Jam.  
"Are you here to diss me further?" asked Maxwell.  
"No," Jam answered, "the reason of my being here is to get you registered for the singles comps of the tournament."  
"I'm not going."  
"Figures, backing down from the challenge you set..... such a shame."  
"Don't you start, Jam."  
"Why not? I figured that you had the balls to go through with the challenge you made, but I see your scrotum is incredibly small."  
"Jam, you're gettin uncalled for."  
"And the kicker is that You told Sandy that you'd battle for her when the need should ever arise. And now that it rose, you don't wanna stand and meet it."  
"........You... you heard that?"  
"My hearing is very strong. And besides, I think Yami would be so much more attentive to Sandy. I mean, those two could literally breed the perfect hams."  
"Jam-"  
"Just picture it, Max."  
  
[If anyone gets offended by this, I am sorry about it.] Maxwell closed his eyes and did just what Jam said. "Oh Yami, oh Yami, Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Sandy moaned in pleasure.  
Yami dismounts Sandy. "Are you okay, my dear?" he asked her.  
"That was sooooo good. I'm happy I chose you over Maxwell, You know how to please me, he would only please those lousy books."  
"Well then, allow me to please you further."  
"Lemme rest for five minutes."  
"Sure, and while you recover from our incredible love making, I will give you a nice ballade."  
  
Maxwell quickly snapped out of that trance with a cold shudder. "Damn you, Jam. That was very disturbing, you know that?!" he yelled.  
"It's raw, but it's real." Jam said with folded arms. "So you ready to step up, or are you going to sit idly by?"  
"Step up, of course."  
"Then you know what you have to do, now get going."  
"You're right. Later Jam, I have my word to keep."  
  
Maxwell left to the ham park with one thing on his mind, redemption. Don't you worry Sandy, I'll get you back. Just watch me.  
  
Short chap this time, peeps, but bare with me, the good stuff is on the way. 


	11. putting the pain to rest

Man I saw Van Helsing on mother's day, damn that was some good shit! and to think the people gave it two stars... no justice for it, it's at least a four star rating. Go and see it sometime. Also, send in some reviews peeps, I wanna know what you guys are thinking about where this story's going.  
  
On their walk home, the hams were a happy bunch. "Ooh la la, zhat was magnifique." said Bijou.  
"Yeah, that bit of training was great." said Hamtaro.  
"I'm glad I actually got through Cartoon Heroes." said Pashmina.  
"Yeah, that song is totally cool." said Sandy. "It makes you feel like singing it."  
"We are the cartoon he-roes, Oh-oh..."  
"Girls, don't get carried away." said Dexter. "There's still much to do."  
"I wonder where Boss is, he still didn't get back yet." said Howdy.  
"Hey you guys," said Jam. "Everyone have fun?"  
"Boss hasn't come back yet." answered Tango.  
"He probably registered for they tourney."  
"Shoot, I forgot to do that." said Howdy.  
"Well, you better do it today, since today's the last day for sign- ups. If you get back home and b-line it to the park, you can sign up for it."  
"I'll make sure I do that."  
"Well, let's go Tango, we have some things to talk about."  
"Right Jam, lead the way."  
  
Jam and Tango run back to the clubhouse as the rest watch them go. "I think Jam and Tango make a cute couple." said Sparkle.  
"I noticed that too." said Pashmina. "You think Tango is Jam's girlham?"  
"Nah, she looks too young for him." Stan answered.  
"And what's wrong with having a younger girlham?" asked Sparkle.  
"Nothing."  
"Okay then."  
"I wonder if Jam's in the tourney..." said Cappy.  
"Probably not." said Hamtaro.  
"And if he was, why would he train us?" asked Pepper.  
"That makes a lot of sense, Pepper." said Bijou. "I guess he'll tell us later."  
"Well, I better get home before Glitter notices I'm gone, 'til tomorrow." said Sparkle and she took off in a hurry.  
  
A little while later, Howdy ran off to register for the tourney at the fun park. There's still time for me, thank god. he thought. As he was going in, he saw Jam and Tango leaving. Looks like those two are finally signing up as well... No matter, don't get distracted. Howdy went in and signed up for singles competition and once done, headed for the door..... only to be greeted by a familiar face. "Hey puddin, what's up?"  
"Oh, just signing up for the tournament." Howdy answered. "What about you?"  
"Being elite has its advantages." said Dandy Lion. "My sibs and I are already in it."  
"That's good to know."  
"So, let's go find a bush somewhere..."  
"I would, but I gotta get back to my owner. Maybe next time, Dandy."  
"Well, I guess I can take a raincheck."  
"Thanks for understanding, bye-q."  
  
And Howdy was gone. Dandy Lion turned to see another ham, Maxwell, and he wasn't doing to well on the floor. Look at that loser, I better go see how badly he's doing. she thought. By the time she got there, she saw the guage almost drained. On an easy song too? that's just sad.  
"Man, this is what I get." said Maxwell, then his guage emptied.  
"You know, for someone that 'The One' trained, you're terrible at this game." said Dandy Lion.  
Maxwell turned to see his spotter. "You broke my concentration." he shot at her.  
"Tch, don't make excuses because you suck at this. I hope Yami puts a beating..... no wait, my brother is going to severely beat you down. And after he's beaten you at this challenge you set out for him...."  
"Don't stop. Finish speaking, I can handle what you're going to say, so just let it out."  
"He's gonna take your girl and breed with her while you sit and watch in stupor."  
"We'll see."  
"Dandy, why are you talking to this gnave for?" ask an approaching Yami.  
"Nothing, just looking at your pitiful competition at work. He died on an easy song."  
"And which song was that?"  
"Bumblebee."  
Yami broke out laughing. "And you dare challenge me? Go back to your books, you loser. You aren't even worth my time, let alone your pathetic challenge."  
"Then why dont you show me how it's done?" Maxwell asked.  
"As soon as you wipe your pitiful frame from the floor, I'll be happy to school you." said Yami.  
"I didn't hear a please."  
"Who wants lessons from whom?"  
"......Fair enough."  
  
Maxwell stepped off the floor and Yami took to it and began his play. "Now pay attention, you might actually learn how to survive." Yami said cockily.  
"Just shut up and dance." said Maxwell.  
  
Yami managed to get two double a ranks and a triple a rank, earning him the extra song. "Well my foe, have you learned yet?" Yami asked.  
"Yeah, I learned." Maxwell answered with rolled eyes.  
"Well I'll let you have my last song. Show me that you've actually learned something, bookworm. Maybe I might take your word's worth... or find out that my sister's words are true."  
"Fine, I will."  
"Here, this song, even on heavy, is eaasy enough even for a novice like you to pass."  
"I'll pick my own song, I don't need any help from you."  
  
Jam re-entered the arcade to see Maxwell take the floor. Obviously Yami is giving Max a chance, but I can sense that his anger is against his will. he thought. Maybe he might actually prove me wrong.... but I'll soon see.  
"Ah, Abyss, this one will do." said Maxwell.  
"Just remember that the extra song works differently here." Yami warned. "You start with a full guage that can't recover, so make sure you stay alive."  
I am precittiating a fallen book with ripped pages. Jam thought as he watched from a distance.  
"All right, let's get this show on the road." said Maxwell.  
  
Abyss started out nicely for Maxwell, a few greats and a good, but he was doing fine. "Huh, this isn't so bad. I can handle it, just you watch, Yami." said a confident Maxwell.  
Yami simply shook his head. "That is a short-sung song." he said.  
"I wanna see how he does when the song really kicks in." said Dandy Lion.  
  
Soon, Dandy got her wish as the pace had picked up. And after what seemed like a great ride for Maxwell, his guage was starting to lower. "Whoa!" yelled Maxwell as Abyss pumped it up. The book lover made is a quarter of the way through the song and his guage drained. Yami and Dandy Lion walked away. "Even I could do that song." she said.  
"Loser, you'll never beat me that way." said Yami. "What a joke, you're worse than my sister said you were."  
Maxwell stood there with his head held down, "Why am I kidding myself, I can't do this." he said.  
That's when he heard clapping. Maxwell looked up to see Jam approaching him. "Comgrats Max, congrats." he said as he clapped.  
"Well I'm glad you liked it." said Maxwell.  
Jam smacked Maxwell upside the back of his head. "Congrats Max, you just lost whatever edge you thought you had over Yami. Foolish move on your part, but hey.... it's your choice."  
"What kind of friend insults his pals?"  
"I'm not dissing you Max, I'm giving you tough love."  
"You didn't do that with everyone else..."  
"That's because everyone else doesn't require me to use that on them."  
"Okay Jam, answer this; What type of floormaster are you anyway for losing to Hamtaro?"  
"Rephrase that."  
"I don't believe that you had sprained yourself when you went up against Panda, Boss and Hamtaro for Bijou, so tell me what really happened."  
"You're smarter than you seem to know, Max. Too bad you can't convert that skill to the floor... If you did, you just might actually stand a chance. True, I didn't really sprain myself during that, but you forgot that the whole purpose of me doing that was because I helped you and Stan teach the other hams. A teacher teaches his or her pupils AND LEARNS FROM THEM, not beats them. If I'd have played on, I'd have had Bijou for myself, but I chose to see what Hamtaro and Boss learned. Don't get it wrong, I'm not saying that I dislike Bijou... no, not that sweet petite, but if I hadn't done that and won that battle for Bijou, the whole purpose of me teaching you guys about that would've been wasted.  
  
"An author gave a very powerful quote of wisdom, Max: 'Those who don't wish to learn, will never learn.' I taught you all how to run the floor, but I can only teach you so much. The rest of the lesson must be learned from experience.... which you have very little of, not to mention your odds of actually winning against Yami. But hey, it's your choice to learn this lesson the hard way..."  
"So when's the tournament?"  
"Soon, and you don't have much time to prepare for it."  
"Are you in it?"  
"What do you think..."  
".................."  
"See ya Max, and try to pull off a miracle, huh? I'd hate to see you lose your girl without even trying to fight for her."  
  
Jam left the arcade and Maxwell with some powerful words.  
  
That evening, Maxwell had more nightmares of Sandy and Yami. He woke up one time in a cold sweat. "This one was even more disturbing from all the other ones I've had." he said to himself. "Okay, enough is enough, I've had it with these atrocious visions. It ends now."  
  
Maxwell left his cage, with a note in his place and headed to the clubhouse. I have to put an end to this.... now! and off to the clubhouse he went.  
  
That's all for this chap peeps. I'll end this on a bad note, even though it still pisses me off: on May 16, 2004, a good friend of mine--no, one I could call a brother, lost his life on his way home in the evening.... he was hit by a truck and instantly killed. He goes by TJ Dickens, and he has stories on fanfiction.net that he posted up to read. So to all my peeps, hold your glasses up and toast to his passing, since his life was taken so unfairly. Kool Runnings man, Kool Runnings ;; 


	12. an all nighter pays off

Ah, tis good to have some love from da peeps, das so good. It means much to a kat like me. Well, the story must go on my peeps, so let's get back into it.  
  
Maxwell arrived at the clubhouse and stared directly at the floor in which he would soon take to battle. Well, there's no choice left now. he thought. The only way to make this end is to do one thing.... study. And study I shall. Maxwell started up the game and set it to the tracks, then began to read ans study all the songs. It took a whole two hours, but he read all 1250 songs on the game, all of them on heavy. Well, now that I know how the steps go, it's time to move to them. It's a hell of a lot of songs, but they all shall be done. Now.... where to start, hmmm. Choices... With a deep breath, Maxwell stepped up and started on the floor, beginning with Pink Rose. For a majority of the night's remainder, Maxwell stepped to all 1250 songs on heavy. Every song he did until he got an 'A' or higher, which meant that certain songs had to be repeated. Finally, he was on the final song. Man, almost done. This one last song and then it's over, Xenon. Not just Xenon, the full version of Xenon. Well, let's get it over with....  
  
Morning came and the hams entered the clubhouse. "Man, today I'm feeling good. I smell an 'A' from Drop Out today." said Stan.  
"That would be totally cool." said Sandy.  
"I wonder what's up with Maxwell though..." Pashmina trailed off.  
"Yeah, I w-"  
Soon, the hams turned to see Maxwell standing on the floor, looking at the quartet. "Hey, what took you guys so long?" asked Maxwell.  
"And just when did you get here?" asked Sparkle.  
"I've been here, now what took you so long? You had a couple of bathroom breaks along the way, huh?"  
"Hey, some of us don't have big bladders okay?" said Sparkle, looking ready to cry.  
"Now, now, don't cry Sparkle. I'll make sure he gets it where it counts," said Stan, comforting Sparkle.  
"Make him pay on that floor."  
"Don't worry, I'll do just that."  
"Well get up here, we can do this now." said Maxwell.  
"Hold your horses, I wanna calm Sparkle down first, then I'll take you down on the floor."  
"Fine, I'll wait for you then."  
  
Stan took Sparkle to a nearby seat, then the rest of the gang showed up. "Hey Maxwell, you're looking good. You look lighter before." said Tango.  
"Well, I've been eating right." said Maxwell.  
"Now if only you can do that instead of stuffing yer cheeks." said Pepper.  
"Hey, I'm not a pig." said Oxnard.  
"This is gonna be a real treat." said Hamtaro.  
"Oui, oui." agreed Bijou.  
Stan stepped up to meet Maxwell. "Okay, now it's time to send you to school." he said.  
"Well then, teach me."  
  
Jam stepped in from the evacuation tunnels as Stan chose the first song, The Legend of Max. "First lesson, Chaos is tricky, so be prepared for it." said Stan.  
"Okay Teacher, I'll be ready for it." said Maxwell.  
  
As the song began, everything started out good. Stan and Maxwell kept the combos equal. Sparkle was routing for Stan, of course and Sandy stayed neutral, the rest of the hams just watched on. Now let's see if you can fare for yourself well, Max. thought Jam.  
"You're doing good, Maxwell, much better than I thought you would." said Stan.  
"I'm glad you like it that much, teacher." said Maxwell. Poor Stan, what you don't know.... he then thought.  
Very nice, but let's see if you can handle the chaos. thought Stan.  
"This is fun."  
"Very fun."  
  
"So what do you think Sandy, major inprovement on Maxwell's behalf, huh?" asked Pashmina.  
"Totally." answered Sandy.  
"Maxwell ees very powerful, non?" asked Bijou.  
"Maybe." answered Hamtaro.  
"Powerful, how?" asked Sparkle.  
"Yeah, I just don't see it." added Cappy.  
"I am unsure, but zhere is power in Maxwell's steps." answered Bijou.  
"He's stepping lightly for looking so powerful." said Pepper.  
"At least she sees his power." Jam cut in.  
"How?" asked Sparkle.  
"Take a look at Max's movement. Even though it looks like and seems like he's stepping softly, there is power to his stepping."  
"I still don't get it." said Hamtaro.  
"Maxwell treads lightly, but he treads with power. And it makes sense, seeing as he was at it all night."  
"Heke?" everyone asked.  
"Of course, he pulled an all nighter."  
"Geez Jam, does anything get past you?!" yelled Maxwell.  
"Not much gets past me, now stay focused. You don't want all that studying you did to go to waste."  
"Just How many songs did he study last night, Jam?" asked Sandy.  
"All of them."  
"All of them, there are hundreds of songs on this game." said Stan.  
"1250 to be exact." Maxwell corrected Stan.  
"Actually there are 1300, but others are extended versions of other songs." Jam set the records straight. "And there are still three hundred more songs to update on that thing."  
"1600 songs? That's murder!" yelled Boss.  
  
After that was done, and everyone else got on the floor, the hams had their lunch. "You're getting much better at this, Pepper." said Pashmina.  
"Well, thank-q kindly, sugar." said Pepper.  
"Pretty soon, you and Oxnard can simply sweep things."  
"Yeah, but I still need some work." said Oxnard.  
"Well I wanna give it up for Maxwell, he really turned it out on the floor today." said Stan. "Let's give him a nice round of applause."  
The hams gave their cheers. "Yes, good show you gave us Maxwell." said Dexter.  
"Really now? So he's no longer a joke, that's music to my ears."  
  
The hams turned to see the "Crew" walk over to them. "Looks like you just might stand a chance against me after all." Yami continued. "And to think, I wouldn't have a match..."  
"Don't come here and start troublemaking." said Boss.  
"We only want to have lunch with you all, if you don't mind..." said Noah.  
"Fine, just don't ruin the meal, fakers." said Hamtaro.  
"Not now, Hamtaro." said Boss.  
"I agree." added Jam, "I would like to have a meal without the tensions of competition for once."  
"And what does that mean?" asked Yami.  
"I would like to enjoy a meal where everyone is on the same page, not a meal that says, 'Come tournament time, I'm gonna whoop on you.' or 'I'm gonna steal your girl.' or 'Your man is coming home with me.' or the rest of that crap. Let's just have a nice meal where we can all enjoy the food and call each other by their names for once."  
"Listen to The One, making pitiful demands already." said Noah.  
"Who's this 'The One' you guys keep talking about?" asked Sparkle.  
"I'm glad she asked it." said Jam as he krumped his mackleberry.  
"Noah doesn't know how to say Jam." said Hamtaro.  
"You knockin' me, boy?" questioned Noah.  
"Nope, I'm knocking no one."  
"What am I, chopped escargo?" asked Bijou.  
"Bad pun, Bijou, bad pun."  
  
"So what you been working on, baby?" Ice asked Panda, who she pulled a seat up to.  
"Building stuff, like always." answered Panda.  
Ice fell over, "Not what I meant."  
"You asked and I told you."  
  
"So Dexter, what type of songs do you like?" asked Blossom.  
"Songs with a good tempo." Dexter answered.  
"Songs that he dances with me." added Pashmina.  
"Did you know there are three cleffs in music, Pashmina?" asked Trav.  
"Yup; Treble, Bass and Middle."  
"I like the middle one, because you can never go wrong there."  
"That's true, but sometimes a high note is lovely. I like those."  
  
"So Cappy, you wanna tag up again, we make a good team?" asked Tango.  
"Dunno, have to think about it." answered Cappy.  
"Aw, come on."  
"Oh that's right, I was gonna tag with Penelope later."  
"Why, she's too youngs for you."  
"Young, but incredibly skilled." Noah cut in. "That reminds me, have you made your mind up on our offer, Penelope."  
"Ookyoo." Penelope answered as she shook her head.  
"Is that a no?"  
"She's still not sure." Pashmina cleared up.  
"Well, I'll just check back in later."  
  
"So Boss, when were you going to introduce Hamina there to the rest of us?" asked Jam.  
"You know my name?" asked a shocked Hamina.  
"Of course. What I wanna know is, why you shared Boss' room last night?"  
  
Everyham turned to Boss and Hamina, but Stan's expression was the most lit up. "You had a girl in your room with you last night? All right, Boss!" he cheered.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time-out. It's not what you think." said Boss.  
Snoozer put in his two cents in the form of a jingle. "With an 'Uki- uki' here and an 'Uki-uki' there and a little bit of 'Uki-uki' all night long..."  
Hamina's face turned red. "No that's uncalled for." said Boss. "Her burrow is mess up right now and she needs a few days before it'll be back to normal."  
"That still doesn't explain why she was in your room last night, Boss." said Jam.  
"With an 'Uki-uki' here and an 'Uki-uki' there and a little bit of 'Uki-uki' all night long..." (This is Snoozer again, peeps)  
"Man, Boss is getting some action at night." said Stan.  
"I wanna know how long this is going on?" asked Sparkle.  
"I wanna know if vous duex shared ze same bed." said Bijou.  
"A little bit of 'Uki-uki' all night long." this time, Tango hit the jingle.  
I want that with Pepper. thought Oxnard.  
"Hey, we aren't like that." said Boss. "Now if things go good over time, then we can get like that, but we're not like that now."  
"That's not what I heard last night." said Jam.  
"Okay, like, moving on to another subjects already..." Sandy said. "What brings you guys here anyway?"  
"What, we can't all have a nice meal together?" Yami asked.  
"Well... I didn't say that."  
  
After the meal, the Comets still hung around. "So Jam, you're pretty much teaching all these ham how to become floormasters, right?" asked Ice.  
"You can say that's pushing it." Jam answered.  
"Well, how about we watch one of your lessons? You know, just to get a feel on what you're teaching exactly."  
"That reminds me about today's lesson. Okay hams, gather 'round." The hams do just that, but the Comets simply watch from the sidelines, so to speak. Jam continued, "I have a very good thing for everyone today."  
"All right, more routines." said Cappy.  
"Yeah, what's up this time?" asked Pashmina.  
"Reading, a lot of reading." Jam answered.  
"Reading?!" the hams cried.  
"Yup. Lemme pass out everyone's textbooks."  
  
Every ham fell to the ground. "Do we have to stay here and watch them read about this game, Noah?" asked Trav.  
"No way, we're out of here." answered Noah. "If this is how 'The One' trains his pupils, by the book, then there's no reason to even watch him teach."  
Jam watched the Comets go away and once they were out of sight, he began to laugh. "I can't believe that worked." he said while laughing.  
"I don't get the joke." said Howdy.  
"That was only a phase to get those silly Comets to leave, amazing how it worked."  
"Oh!" said the rest of the hams.  
"Now, partner up with your partners for this tournament, it's time to work on your team skills."  
  
That's exactly how it worked until it was time for the hams to leave. As the hams went their ways home, and Jam and Tango to their rooms, Boss and Hamina decided to have their time as well. "That Jam is dedicated, isn't he?" Hamina asked.  
"That's just Jam." answered Boss. "He'll always be like that."  
  
Blah, blah, blah...... The next morning, all the hams were excited on their way to the clubhouse, some more than others. "Man, tomorrow is the big day everyone." said Hamtaro. "I hope everyone is ready."  
"I am," said a confident Stan, "but I still wanna get in some dances so I can have that last minute floor running."  
"I'm just glad I was able to pull all this off." said Oxnard.  
"I'm sure this is going to be fun." said Pepper.  
  
But when the hams got there, they were looking at Boss and Panda who were tinkering with the floor. "Is something wrong with this game, Boss?" asked Tango.  
"Disabled," Panda answered. "I can't believe this game is on disable mode."  
"Well, undisable it, Panda." said Boss.  
"I wish I knew how..."  
"This is bad, with the dance floor disabled, we won't be able to practice on the floor today." said Cappy.  
"That's the point." All the hams turned to see Jam. "Gather 'round you hams, it's time for a chat."  
"So you disabled the game, how come?" asked Hamina.  
"Because of tomorrow."  
"But the tournament starts tomorrow." whined Cappy. "We need to practice some more last minute-"  
"You need no more practice, all of you are doing fine."  
"You know, for someone who eez getting us to run ze floor, I can't believe how you are acting right now." said Bijou.  
"Yada, yada, yada. Listen hams, the reason why I disabled that is because today, you all are going to rest so that you can be at your full potentials. The last thing you guys need is to be all worn out today and have it cost you come tourney time. Now I know that the whole thing on how I've been schooling all of you isn't what you'd normally think, but the whole purpose of it is to get all of you to find and utilize your own individual styles of running the floor.  
  
"Normally, a sensei would have his pupils learn the same style... and for what, to simply repeat his own shadow? Not much, if anything at all, gets learned that way. But to have each of you develop your own unique style, you all learn more this way."  
"Because we're teaching ourselves and taking hints from you as they go." said Dexter.  
"Show you rye, Dexter. Now, there's just one more thing left for me to do."  
"What might that be?" asked Cappy.  
"Gifts, of course."  
  
"We get presents." said Hamtaro.  
"Don't worry, I got you one as well, Hamina."  
"Really? Thank-q."  
  
Jam walked to Penelope and picked her up, then headed back to the group. "First off, a gift for Little One." Jam began as he put Penelope down. He turned around so he pretty much shielded her and removed his backpack, exposing the sun on his back to the rest of the hams. "Okay, hold still and please don't scream." Jam took off Penelope's Yellow blanket and placed it aside, and pulled a new one from his pack. It was red with white music notes on it, then placed it on Penelope. After that he moved away from her to let the rest of the hams see.  
"Hey, that's pretty cool." said Hamtaro.  
"I don't think red is her color though..." said Sandy. "But you still look good, Penelope."  
"Ookyoo." said a happy Penelope.  
"Where's my gift?" asked Cappy.  
"I got it, but first...." Jam removed Cappy's green hat.  
"Hey, that's mine!"  
"No it's not, but this one is." Jam put a silver hat on Cappy's head. "A new lid for Capster, here's your old lid too."  
"This color is weird."  
"It was either silver, or pink."  
"Silver, definitely silver."  
  
"Now for Bijou. I know how much you love blue ribbons, but you should like these ones too." Jam gave Bijou a small box with her ribbons inside of it.  
"Merci, Jam. I'll wear zem tomorrow." said Bijou.  
"Well, would you try them on today, I'm really hoping that I got the right size for you?" Jam asked.  
"Well, it wouldn't hurt..." Bijou opened the box to reveal two pretty sunglow ribbons. "Well, zhey look pretty, but are a bit bright for me."  
"Well, keep em' anyway. As for you Hamtaro, you can don one of these."  
"Cool, a headband." said Hamtaro.  
"Hold still, gotta tie it on you here..." Jam did just that, then headed over to Pahsmina. "Okay Pashy, they ran out of pink, but you'll like this color." Jam pulled out a gold scarf and placed it in Pashmina's paws.  
"This feels soft." said Pashmina. "I could kiss you Jam."  
"Left cheek, please."  
".....'Kay."  
  
Pashmina pecked Jam and then she put on her new scarf. "You had better have a good gift for me." said Dexter.  
"Yup, some new ties for ya. One for every special event in your life." said Jam.  
"Well, it's the thought that counts."  
"Hey, if you don't want it, give em' back."  
"I didn't say that, I just don't think I could have so many events..."  
"Moving on.... Here Howdy, a new red apron for yee."  
"Ooh, this looks nice." Howdy said as he held his gift. "What's with these lines and this symbol here?"  
"It's a music scale."  
"Oh."  
"And some beat sticks for Stan."  
"Nice sticks..." said Stan, "but what's with the red, white and green?"  
"I was in Tijuana at the time. Sparkle, here are some new bands for your tails. Go ahead, try em' on."  
"Hey, this is a nice color." said Sparkle.  
"Yup, Poppy. They also have a design on them if you look at them properly."  
Sparkle moved her hair bands around, "Oh wow, mics. Thanks Jam."  
"Hey what about me, don't I gat anything?" asked Panda.  
"Yup," Jam answered, "I got you a new tool set."  
"That's nice, but I dont need anymore tools."  
"I handyham never has enough tools."  
"If you say so."  
  
"Now for my farm ham.... where is it at...." Jam searched his pack. "Found it. Even you should enjoy this." Jam pulled out a red cloak for Pepper.  
"This looks like the rag I wear now." said Pepper.  
"That cloak you call a rag is nice, but it doesn't cover your head and tails like dis here cloak. A good hood is always fun to wear, it keeps your ears warm too."  
"That's a nice point, good gift."  
"And a gold seed for Ox."  
"Yes, a gold seed." said Oxnard as he held his gift. He then took a bite out of it, "Ow!"  
"That's a gold seed, Ox. You can't eat that, it's a charm of prosperity."  
"Okay, I'll buy that."  
"Sandy, can I see your ribbon, please?"  
"Sure," Sandy answered, "catch."  
  
Sandy tossed her ribbon Jam's way and he placed it in his pack, closed the pack, shook it twice, opened the pack and tossed the ribbon back to its owner. Only the Ribbon had white and a blue cloth on it instead of the red one. "Okay, like what did you do to my ribbon?" Sandy asked.  
"Nothing, I just leveled it up." Jam answered. "Your ribbon now is a Kaze's ribbon. You can defend yourself better with that now, but be careful, Kaze's ribbons usually are gusting."  
"Um, okay. I'll like, totally take your word for it."  
"What about me?" asked Maxwell.  
"You gave me a hard time, you gets no gift."  
"Wha-"  
"Just kidding. Here you go."  
"O-kay, what is it?"  
"It's called a PAD, you're smart, so you can figure out what it does."  
"Um, thanks..."  
"Bossham Boss, I got you some digging stuff, when you wanna do some more remodling to the clubhouse here, jic."  
"Well, I've been meaning to buy a new spade. I'll apreciate this."  
  
"Here's something for you, Hamina."  
".....Hamster Jimmies?!" Hamina yelled.  
"Oopsie, those are mine." Jam took those jimmies back. "Guys can never be too careful, right Boss?"  
"Don't look at me, I dunno what you're talking about." Boss answered.  
"Sure you don't." said Stan.  
"Moving on," Jam continued. "I got this for you."  
"Cool, it's a focus band, this'll come in handy."  
"Good, well now that all of you knwo just how good you are, I want you all to remember one very important things before you head onto the floors in the morrow."  
"And what's that?" asked Bijou.  
"Remember that this is just a game, so have fun, enjoy yourselves, know your limits and keep your cool."  
"Those are nice words." said Hamtaro.  
"And also, they closed the arcade at the fun park, so you all have to wait it out 'til the morrow. That's all hams and I'll see you all then. Let's go Tango."  
"But what about my gift?" asked Tango. "And do I have to go now?"  
"Yes, you know what your sister said."  
"Oh, all right. Catch you later, hams."  
  
With that, Jam and Tango left the clubhouse. "I still think Jam and Tango are steady." said Pashmina.  
"Not me, I think Jam's not even interested in Tango." said Stan.  
"You're just being mean." said Sparkle.  
  
That night the hams all went to bed early, wanting to make sure they would be refreshed and ready for the next days of events that will take place. 


	13. tournament ups and downs

Before I go on and start this next chapter, I wanna answer a question one of the peeps gave to me; "Which Dance Dance Revolution games do you find all these songs on, I know that's what game you're using in this story?" Well this girl is right... and wrong. True, DDR is one of the series of games I'm using for this story (and the previous one), but there are two other games I'm using as well: Pump it Up and Masters of the Dance Floor. I'm taking the songs from each of those games.  
  
Also, the floor itself is from each of those three games, DDR's floor has four points to it (up, down, right and left), while PIU has five points to it (upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right and center) and MF has all nine points to run the floor on. I'm also taking the songs from these games and having the hams jam to them, so it's more than just DDR. Finally, I also wanna thank Haily Comet for letting me use her Comet Crew, but I don't think she knew that I would have them as such important players. Her ham, as herself, will come in later.  
  
Now for the story itself. No more plot building, it's tourney time and on certain rounds, I'll have you peeps vote for that thar winner(s). Finally, I'm bringing in another OC of mine and two belonging to Mitsukai and Chaos. Well peeps, wish your hams luck.  
  
Today was the day, the day that the gang had prepered for after a long time. Today, it's time for the hams to put up, or shut up on the floor. Yes, once again, it's time for the Tournament of Dancers. A lot of hams showed up to this event, some to watch and the rest to participate, but the hams came in style. Everyone had their gifts on or with them. Boss even sproted the new helmet that came with the digging stuff Jam gave to him. "Well everyone, today is the day that we as hams show to everyone how good we are." said Stan. "I hope you're all ready to give it all you got hams, because I'm not going to let anything get by without a battle."  
"Don't worry, you'll definitely get one." said Dexter.  
"Hey you guys, over here!"  
"Look you guys, it's Jam and Tango." Hamtaro pointed out.  
"Yeah, but who's the other girl?" asked Pashmina.  
  
Three Ra's Hamster approached the gang. "Hey hey you hams, the moment of truth is almost upon us." said Jam.  
"You bet." said Sandy. "And this is gonna be totally cool."  
"Show you rye, Sandra."  
"So Jam, who is this?" asked Pashmina.  
The third ham introduced herself. "How are you all, Tango and Jam have told me so much about you. My name is Roll, and I wish you all good luck."  
"Same to you, Roll." said Bijou.  
"Hey Jam, are you and Rool gonna be in the doubles tourney?" asked Cappy.  
"Yup," Jam answered, "and we plan on going far too."  
"Good, because we plan to stop you."  
  
The hams turned to see the six Comet Crew member in full force. "If you textbook dancers think you'll be able to make it to the finals, get real." said Noah.  
"If you think you fakers scare us, get real." said Hamtaro.  
"Well, now, looks like a lot of you are all paired up, I wonder why?"  
"There's strength in numbers." answered Dexter.  
"So what about you, Pandy-poo?" asked Ice.  
"I'm tagged up with Sandy for the doubles competition." Panda answered.  
"Oh phooey, there goes my hopes of daincing with you."  
"You're in the singles, aren't you Howdy?" asked Dandy Lion.  
"Yup." Howdy answered. "So are Boss, Hamina and Maxwell."  
"I can't believe you showed up." said Yami.  
"And back out of the challenge I ISSUED?" questioned Maxwell. "What do you take me for?"  
"A ham that's about to get beat."  
"Why you-"  
Stan held Maxwell from Yami. "Hey chief, save it for the floor." e told Maxwell.  
"Luckily for you, only Blossom and Trav are in the doubles." said Noah. "But I do believe they'll trample all of you, two by two."  
"Don't get cocky, partner." warned Pepper. "Walk yer own road and we'll do the same."  
"If you are all done, we have to listen to the rules." said Jam.  
  
The announcer came to the podium. "Hello ladies and gentlehams, participants and spectators." he began. "This is our fiftieth tournament in doing this, so we would like to welcome all of you to it's new name; The Floormasters Ball." many cheers are given, then the announcer continues after they die down. "As you know, this tournament tests your skill as a floor dancing ham. Anyway, the rules are the same as every year, so listen up. The objective is to best your opponent in battle-style dancing. Each match consiste of five rounds and the winner is the one who achieves three victory stars, or drains his or her opponent's guage. You will be on the nine step floors this tournament and all the freeze arrows and long songs have been disabled." a few boos and hisses come from participants. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Anyway, the doubles competetion works in the same way as the singles, when one team has both of its member drained of their guages, that team loses. If one team member's guage drains out, he or she stopps off the floor.  
  
"The partner continues on the rest of the song, and should that partner make it through the round, the eliminated partner can rejion the surviving partner in the next stage. When opponents great, they shake BEFORE AND AFTER the match. Any unsportsmanlike conduct will result in disqualification in contestants AND teams, so doubles people, keep your teammates in check. In the Doubles competition, one rep from each team is on one machine while their partners face off each other on another machine. The first song is always chosen at random and the loser/losing team choses the next song. If there is a tie, we go to the scores to determine who chooses the next song. Now, as you can see, we a panel of three judges here, give them a hand." participants applaud. "Their role is in sync with a request from last year. To those new, these judges wil look at your performance on the floor and add up style points to your average score, so how you move on the floor will also improve your score(s).  
  
"Finally, we have added the save feature into the game. This works when you're about to be drained of your guage. A proper save will give you a twenty-five percent guage increase. And like always, to ensure fairness, all of the participants have been entered into our computer and matches are made at one hundred percent random. Singles comp to the left and doubles comp to the right. Before I let you all go, I would like to introduce to all of you what you're here for." Two assistants pull out trophies and ribbons. "We have trophies and ribbons for third to first place. The winners will recieve their winner's ribbons and trophy, but will also go up againts.... the undisputed world floormasters. So without further ado, I will introduce first to you, the 10 time undisputed Tag Team Floormasters from Japan, Rage and Emi."  
  
Lots of applause is give the the world's best team. Rage is a brown hamster sporting an orange and Emi is a powder blue hamster with a white hat on her head. [Sound familiar, peeps?] Rage and Emi took a bow, then joined the panel of judges. "Next, we have the new undisputed Floormaster from the United States, give it up for Kit-n-Kat." Applause was given to the new singles champ.  
"So Baby-lon finally got beat I see?" Jam questioned himself. "This Kit-n-Kat must be good."  
"Is that a boy or a girl?" asked Hamtaro.  
  
Kit-n-Kat was covered in a pastel green blanket, but under it was a young tan colored ham. Kit-n-Kat crossed eyes with Penelope and winked at her, then sat next to Emi. And with that, I bid all of our contestants, good luck."  
  
The matches between everyone were under way and the competition was fierce. Many matches were over quickly, some, didn't even lats half a round. But the hams had their matches and they all moved on in the solo and tag competitions.... but the Comet Crew also moved on and they also monitored they competition. The gang was all sitting down for a break. "It's good to see all of you guys still around." said Jam. "It just goes to show you that your training has paid off."  
"Yeah, we rock." said Sparkle.  
"Of course we rock, we're the shit." said Stan.  
"No," Jam corrected, "they are judging the competition."  
"Oh yeah, you're right."  
"Where are Hamtaro and Bijou?" asked Hamina.  
"I think they have a match to go through." Pashmina answered.  
  
It was true, their second match had just started, and they were up against another pair. "Hamtaro, you and Will take one floor and the ladies will take the other." said the ref.  
"Cool, we'll take the-"  
Hamtaro was stopped by Will. "We'll let the ladies choose the floors first." he said. Like Bijou, Will was an all white ham.  
"Thatnks baby." said Will's partner, Kurica. She was a cyan and white ham with two braided tails. "This one, Bijou."  
"I'll take ze left." said Bijou.  
"You ladies okay?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Yup." Bijou and Kurica answer.  
Will took the right, next to Bijou. "Let's go Hamtaro, time to show me what you got." said Will.  
"You're on." said Hamtaro, shaking Will's paw before stepping up to the floor. The girls greeted each other as well, then the match began.  
  
"Good luck you two." said Will.  
"Same to vous, Will." said Bijou.  
"I love that accent." said Kurica.  
"This should be fun." said Hamtaro.  
  
All four dancers hit the same thing. Speed x2, heavy mode, but Kurica put hers on solo and the rest was good. "What's with ze solo?" asked Bijou.  
"It keeps the steps the same beat." answered Kurica.  
"I'll remember zhat."  
  
The first song turned out to be Waka Laka. As the song started out, Bijou already had trouble getting used to it. "Sacré bleu, too many Boos."  
"Man, I don't like this song." said Will.  
"Nice to see we're on the same boat." said Hamtaro.  
"I'm sure glad I put this song on solo." said a happy Kurica.  
Bijou, get into beat. Bijou ordered herself mentally. I hope Hamtaroo's doing better zhan me.  
Fanally, I got the step beat down pat. thought Hamtaro. He saw Bijou struggling from the corner of his eye. If I could get to Bijou, I could tell her, but I don't want to get us DQed, so I better clear this song.  
  
Halfway through the song, Bijou's guage drained and she stepped off her floor disappointed. "hmf, look like your girlham couldn't pull through this one." said Will. "You'll soon join her, don't worry."  
"I'm not listening to you." said Hamtaro, trying to stay focused.  
  
It worked. Hamtaro barely made it through the first song with a 'C' rank. Kurica took an 'A' with Will's 'B' rank, giving them the first song. Bijou stepped onto the floor and picked the next song. "Okay Bijou, what's next?" asked Hamtaro.  
"We'll try our favorite song." Bijou answered.  
"You better try and survive this time." said Kurica.  
"Don't worry, I will." Bijou and Hamtaro picked their team song, Swing my Baby! and toned the speed to 1.5. Kurica had it on normal now, but kept her speed, as did Will, but he reversed the scroll.  
"I love this song." said Will.  
"Are you sure you can do it like that?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Just watch me." answered. Will.  
"Tch, your loss."  
  
As the song began, Hamtaro and Bijou began to snap their fingers in unison, confusing Will and Kurica and catching the attention of the judges. Will and Kurica mocked out duet and the song began. Things were going great for Hamrato and Bijou as they haven't stepped a great at all, it was like they were in sync with the machine. "Hey you guys, Hamtaro and Bijou are on the big screen." said Cappy.  
The hams turned their attention there. "Isn't that their song?" asked Jam.  
"It sure sounds like it." answered Stan.  
"Here comes the bridge." said Pashmina.  
Hamtaro and Bijou sung the bridge as they ran the floor. "Oh, Swing, swing, swing my ba-by, we all get down down to my style..." the rest was slang, as the hams watched them on the tv.  
Jam laughed with his tongue sticking out. "Holy... whoa, the judges must be eating this up." he said.  
"They actually did the worm for that tricky part." said Sparkle.  
"When did they start doing that?" asked Pashmina.  
"Man, look at them slide." said Dexter. "They aren't even looking at the screens."  
"The judges are on their feet." said Stan.  
  
Over where they were, the crowd was going wild. "Rage, even we couldn't do that, they really turned this around." said Emi.  
"That they did." agreed Rage.  
Even the singles were seeing this. "....I'm speechless." said Boss.  
"Damn!" yelled Maxwell.  
"Ditto." said Howdy.  
Even the single Comets were glued. ".....And that was in the book, dear brother." said Yami.  
"Yes," said Noah. "For textbook floor running, 'The One' trains his students well."  
"They just won their round." said Dandy Lion.  
  
As the song came to an end, Hamtaro and Bijou had the 'V' on their sides of the screens. The round was over, after seeming like a tough start, incredible style pulled them through. "Better luck next time, mon ami." Bijou said as she hugged Kurica.  
"Wow, with talent like that, you'll go far in this tourney." said Will as he shook Hamtaro's paw.  
"Thanks, and better luck next time." said Hamtaro.  
"Good luck to you, Bijou." said Kurica.  
Meanwhile in the break area. "What does the 'V' mean, Jam?" asked Sandy.  
"It's an instan win." answered Jam. "I though they disabled that, but apparently it's in. Only those of pure skill and proper floor running get 'V's in versus play, that was great."  
Hamtaro and Bijou joined the rest of the gang, which after a few moments, everyone was here. "Hamtaro, Bijou, those were some serious skills." said Stan.  
"Thank-q." said the new victors.  
"I wanna know where the hell that came from." said Jam.  
"Not me," said Pashmina, "what I wanna see it the expressions on Blossom's and Trav's faces after a performance like that."  
Those two Comets still haven't pick up their jaws from seeing Hamtaro and Bijou on the big screen. "Hey, sis, we're in trouble." said Trav.  
"Uh huh." said Blossom.  
  
After that, the drawings of the second round were about to start. Jam was enjoying his drink when he saw two specific matches pop up, he did a spit take. Oh boy, here we go. he thought. I knew this would happen, but I didn't think it would happen this early...  
Cappy and Penelope were looking at the screens. "Well, it was bound to happen sometime." said Cappy.  
"Okyoooo." said Penelope sadly.  
"Hey, don't let this stir you, stuff like this happens."  
"Okwee."  
Just, why did it happen now.....  
  
Jam rejoined the hams after seeing the news of the second round. "Man, that's too bad." said Pashmina.  
"This is gonna start to get ugly now." said Dexter.  
  
The singles also had some shocks to them. Howdy and Maxwell found out that they will face each other in the next round. "Well you two sure are quiet." said Yami. "But why is the question? Is it because that you have to face each other, or is because the winner will be facing me? Of course, my opponent will be no match, but who is going to face me is the real million seed question. Will it be the neat freak with the bad comedy, or the issuer of the challenge? So much for honor among friends, later gentlemen." and Yami walked off.  
Even Boss and Hamina were in shock. "So, Boss, who are you rooting for?" asked Hamina.  
"I really can't say." Boss answered. "We have Howdy and Maxwell going head to head in the singles, and the doubles are also bad. Sandy and Panda will face Cappy and Penelope and Oxnard and Pepper will face Hamtaro and Bijou. It's messed up I tell you, but this is sadly, where we start being divided."  
  
"All I can say is this to you hams," Jam began. "Whoever winse these next matches are the ones who want it more."  
  
====================================================  
  
There you have it peeps, it's time for you to vote on who stays in each match. so here's the rundown:  
  
In the singles;  
  
Howdy v Maxwell  
  
In the doubles;  
  
Sandy/Panda v Cappy/Penelope  
  
Oxnard/Pepper v Hamtaro/Bijou  
  
Cast your votes in your reviews peeps, remember that it's your choice on who stays and goes. Vote wisely and I'll write accorgingly. OO 


	14. the battles of friendship

Well, here's the next chap folks. Hopefully, you guys aren't to POed at me.  
  
Howdy and Maxwell sat across from each other at their table. For the first time since they started their singles competition journey, the two hams that were so pepped up on this were quiet like churchmice on Easter Sunday. Boss simply watched the two, Man, I can't believe one of them has to take the other out. he thought and fixed his helmet. The doubles are probably just like this. Well, I might as well help these two out. "Okay you two, listen up. Even though you guys are bummed on this match you have together, you shouldn't be mad over it... it won't solve anything anyway. What you two had better do is take and keep your kiddy gloves off and give it all you got.  
  
"Even though one of you is going to move on, you two aren't alone, because some of the other hams are in your same spot. Just remember, no matter who wins, you're still friends and the winning friend only wants it more."  
"Hey you guys, Yami's starting his match now." said Hamina as she walked over to the guys. "I think you might want to watch this one."  
  
Meanwhile, the doubles competitors weren't taking it too well. "Man, I can feel the tension between you hams." said Stan.  
"You aren't the only one," said Sparkle. "I bet this has to suck knowing that you have to face each other this early."  
"Sparkle, can it." said Sandy. "I totally don't need to be egged on right now."  
"Listen to yourselves, when did I teach you guys this?" Jam was displeased. "You hams never felt this miserable going against each other at the clubhouse."  
"The clubhouse never had such high stakes as these." said Cappy.  
"Okyoo." added Penelope.  
"Fodder, simply fodder."  
"Look Jam-"  
"No you look, all of you, why does the fact that you're in a tournament have to change the picture of things going on here? It doesn't matter if you're in a tourney or not. You hams forgot that I told you all to have fun.... so what if two friends have to face two friends, games should never break friendships. And if the outcome of your next matches puts your friendships in jepordy, please say so."  
"Well, that's what we were thinking." said Cappy.  
The other hams agreed. "C'mere, Capster."  
"What's wrong?"  
SMACK! "Terrible. Now, stop thinking like that anr rembmer that this game doesn't end friendships. Now you guys have fun... Roll, let's go."  
  
Meanwhile, Maxwell and Howdy were watching Yami's battle. "Look at how this match is going..." said Howdy.  
"It won't take long." said Maxwell.  
"Cody, you're a joke. What kind of match is this?" asked Yami.  
"Go brother, finish him!" yelled Dandy Lion.  
"Interested in this match that much, eh?" asked Maxwell.  
"Oh, I didn't see you two here. Hey baby, how are you?"  
"Just getting ready for our match." answered Howdy.  
"Then I'll have to wish you good luck then."  
  
Dandy Lion gave Howdy a nice bunch of sugar. Meanwhile, Oxnard and Pepper took the stage next to Hamtaro and Bijou. "Well, we can't hold zhees off any longer, time to run ze floor." said Bijou.  
"Good luck to you guys, sugar." said Pepper.  
"Yeah, you're gonna need it." said Hamtaro slyly.  
"Don't worry about us, just fend for yourselves." said Oxnard.  
  
The first song was chosen at random and everyone chose the same options, speed times two, heavy mode and the round began. As soon as the screen showed its face, Pepper's eyes lit up. "Well now, looks like my song's up first." she said.  
"Oh man, not Cow Girl." whined the other three.  
As the music started, Pepper sang along. "I'm a cow girl, and I'm riding on my horse..."  
Pepper continued to sing along. "Man, I hate this song." Oxnard whined.  
"Yeah, too much galloping." agreed Hamtaro.  
Lucky break for ze farm ham. thought Bijou.  
"What a lucky break for your girlham, Oxy." said Hamtaro.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami was enjoying a shake. "Well gentlemen, I've lived up to my end of the bargain, now you just have to make it to me." he said.  
"Aren't you cocky?" asked Howdy.  
"No, he ain't cocky..." said Maxwell. "he's just full of bullsh-"  
"Anyway," Dandy Lion changed the subject, then pecked Howdy on his cheek. "I hope you win against him, I'm rooting for you."  
"Um... thanks." said Howdy.  
"I don't care who I face out of you two," said Yami. "I'll be beating the winner anyway.  
Oh yeah, he's full of it all right. thought Maxwell.  
"Well Maxy, let's get going." said Howdy.  
  
Our other tag team steps up to the floor getting ready to start, but Sandy and Panda have yet to step up yet. "Panda, you take Penelope on and I'll take on Cappy." Sandy whispered to her partner.  
"Why do I have to face her for?" Panda whispered back.  
"Because you and her are the same skill level. Don't be scared Panda, you can totally take her."  
".....If you say so." and Panda stood next to Penelope.  
  
Meanwhile, the first four friends finished their first song. Only Pepper managed an "A" while everyone else got a "C" rank. "We got this one, Oxy, now it's Hamtaro's pick." said Pepper.  
"You don't mind, do you Bijou?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Of course not," Bijou answered, "zhis win eez in ze bag. "  
Not a bad Idea....  
  
Hamtaro chose the song, Bag for the second round and switched his to solo while Oxnard and Pepper made no change. Bijou however.... "Here we go."  
"You're gonna do Bag on chaos?!" Pepper yelled.  
"Who's gonna do Bag on chaos?"  
And the people began to crowd around. "Zhat's right, I'm going to do Bag on chaos." answered Bijou, then started the second round.  
Bijou must really be gutsy doing this song on chaos.... thought Hamtaro. No one at the clubhouse, with the possible acception of Jam, can do Bag on chaos.  
"Hey Rage, that Bijou's gonna do Bag on heavy chaos." said Emi.  
"Now this I gotta see." said Rage. "No serious floor dancer can run heavy chaos on Bag."  
"This will prove interesting." said Kit-n-Kat.  
  
As the song began, Bijou was on a roll, everything was perfect so far. Meanwhile, Howdy and Maxwell finally stood next to each other. "Well, Howdy..... don't hold back." said Maxwell.  
"Same to you." said Howdy.  
"Go Howdy, whoooooooooo!" Dandy Lion cheered.  
  
Meanwhile, Penelope was alone on her side of the floor as was Sandy. They were on the song, Love is a Danger Zone and were duking it out head to head. It was currently looking bad for Sandy. Grrrrrrrrrr, if this were just the five step floor, I'd be fine. thought the athletic girl ham. This nine step floor isn't giving me any justice.  
She won't hold out much longer. thought Penelope, who was also in bad shape.  
"This can go either way." said Panda.  
"Uh huh." said Cappy."  
  
Though both girls made it through the song, Sandy failed the song and Penelope slid by with a "D" rank. "Well, I guess we lost." said Panda.  
"On the first song too." added Cappy.  
"I'm not mad."  
"Me neither, it was fun while it lasted."  
I can't believe I had that song on this floor... thought a downed Sandy.  
"Okyoo." said Penelope.  
"You're right Penny, the better girl won that one."  
"I'm just glad you aren't mad." said Panda.  
"Why, it's just a game...."  
  
The four hams had a group hug, then Sandy and Panda held up the winners' arms as a show of respect. Jam soon ran by them. "Man, are you guys watching Bijou?" he asked. "She's running through Bag on heavy chaos like a spoon through Jello."  
"What's Jello?" asked Cappy.  
"C'mon, let's go."  
  
Blossom and Trav were watching Bijou go through Bag also. "Hey sis, we're really in trouble." said Trav.  
"Yes, most definitely." said Blossom.  
I can't believe Bijou hasn't missed yet... thought an astounded Pepper.  
Almost done.... I can smell the victory here. thought Bijou.  
"She's about to do it, Rage." said Emi.  
"I know, I know." said Rage.  
  
Jam and the hams showed up. "Jam is this that amazing to do?" asked Pashmina.  
"Of course, since it hasn't been done before." answered Jam.  
"You're kidding." said Cappy and Pashmina.  
"No joke."  
"Zat's all folks." said a happy Bijou.  
  
The round was over. As Bijou picked the "V" up on her side of the screen, she was literally showered in applause. "Even though I just saw it, I still don't believe it." said Kit-n-Kat.  
"History has just been made." said Rage.  
"Hey Dexter, with an act like that, Bijou and Hamtaro are gonna be tough to beat." said Pashmina.  
"Hamtaro got an "S" also." noted Dexter.  
Stan and Sparkle watched the feat on a big screen and Sparkle took a picture of it. "Sparkle, Bijou can move...." said Stan.  
"Yeah..." Sparkle agreed.  
Frenchie got skills.... thought Roll.  
"Well, at least I gave it all I got, I have no regrets." said Pepper.  
"Better luck next time." said Bijou.  
"You can count on that." and the girls kiss.  
"Good show, huh Oxnard?" asked Hamtaro.  
"Nope, not a good show." answered Oxnard, sliencing the cheers. "Calling that performance 'A good show' is a joke. That everyone is what I like to call, 'Untouchable.' Enough said...." Oxnard goes and gives Bijou a hug, then shakes paws with Hamtaro.  
  
"Well, that song was a weird one, huh?" asked Maxwell.  
"Yup." answered Howdy. "I never thought a samurai wearin headphones could sing like that."  
"Well, since we both took a 'B' that time, why don't you pick the next song?"  
"Sure, let's hit the familiar favorite, so we can be on equal grounds."  
"Spin it."  
  
Howdy chose Beethoven Virus for the next song. As the song started up, the match stayed exactly how it was expected.... even. "So bro, you enjoying this match?" asked Dandy Lion.  
"Yes." Yami answered. I'll say this for you, you've gotten much better than when I last saw you, bookworm. Perhaps you may have a chance at beating me after all.... Yes, a chance, but you won't be winning.  
"Seems that this textbook dancing actually has some skill to it." said Noah.  
"What do you mean by that?" asked Yami.  
"I just came from the 'john' to see Bijou pick up a 'V' on Bag."  
"So what?" asked Dandy Lion.  
"She had it on heavy chaos."  
"That's a lie!" Dandy Lion and Yami shout.  
"No lies, I took a picture of it too." Yami shows the picture of Bijou giving a curtsy to her song.  
"Perhaps we've underestimated them." said Yami.  
"Perhaps.... but perhaps 'The One' and his schoolbook lessons aren't to be taken lightly."  
"Well, those two are done." said Dandy Lion. "They got "B" ranks again."  
"It's your pick, Maxy, take us home." said Howdy.  
"Sure, since you like Beethoven so much..." said Maxwell.  
  
Maxwell chose the final song for them, Speed over Beethoven. As the song began, the two shook paws. "Bring it on, one last time." said Maxwell.  
"You got it." said Howdy.  
  
Then the notes began. Meanwhile, the gang was giving Bijou props for her history making performance. "Bijou, you are.... you are..... ah hell, you rock, Bijou." said Pashmina.  
"Merci, Pashmina." said a happy Bijou.  
"That was a bunch of luck."  
The hams turn to see Blossom and Trav. "You were just lucky to pull that off, and you know it." said Blossom.  
"SO, you're just mad because you didn't do eet before moi." said Bijou.  
"You pomous little priss, don't get cocky because of the sheer dumb luck you've been having."  
"Someone eez jealous...."  
"I'm not jealous of you, you stank cow."  
"Well I smell better zhan you, 'Miss Thang', so watch your tongue."  
"Who you calling "Miss Thang' you stuck up little-"  
  
"Okay, okay, let's change the subject matter here before someone gets DQed." Jam broke up the cat fight. "Besides, you two can save it for when you face each other. Settle the score then."  
"Jam's got a point, we'll deal with you too later, let's go Bijou." said Hamtaro and they walked off  
  
Howdy and Maxwell finished their song. "Well, it was a nice battle, man." said Maxwell.  
"Yup, you definitely earned my respect on this floor." said Howdy.  
"Same here."  
  
When the results came up, Howdy had a thrid "B" to Maxwell's "A", giving Maxwell the victory over Howdy. Maxwell then turned to Yami. "You're next, bub." he said.  
"Well, I thought you weren't going to make it at first, but I see I was wrong about your talents." said Yami. "But now we're going to see who ends up without a girlfriend."  
"Yeah, you."  
  
=======================================================  
  
You know, votes actually came in after the polls were closed, too bad they didn't count. I guess it's the site's fault for not updating the story. Oh well, these battles are over and another will soon take place, so review peeps. 


	15. the battle for Sandy

Man, I'm fresh from a freelance tournament that happened over the weekend and man those guys were cool. I expected more to happen, but hey, it was just freelance. The judges were from EB Games too. Anyway, it's time for the singles battle that you peeps have been waiting for, so sit back and enjoy.

"Okay everyone, we're gonna take thrity minutes and after that, we'll continue the first round, so enjoy yourselves and take a break from the floor."

With this announcement, the gang took their break. "Man, I'm glad we got a break." said Hamtaro. "I'm ready for one."

"Man, those guys were no easy task." said Dexter, "but Pashmina and I pulled through and are still around."

"I can't believe I failed the first song, that's so totally wrong." whined Sandy.

"Don't be a sore loser, it was fair and square." said Cappy.

_Yeah, qut friggen crying._ thought Penelope.

"Well, I may not be able to go on any further, but I'm still gonna root for you guys." said Pepper.

"Me too." added Oxnard.

"See, despite this minor setback, your friendship still holds, like it should." said Jam.

"Man, the singles competitors are playing for keeps now, it's too bad that many of them lose." said Boss.

"Yeah, they need to relax." added Hamina.

"So, where's Max at you three?" Jam asked.

"You know, after he crossed eyes with Yami, I didn't see him since." said Howdy.

Maxwell sat at his own table, sipping on a shake. Suddenly, Yami sits across from him. "I must say, you've gotten a lot better since the last time I saw you perform." Yami said. Maxwell gave no response, he just continued enjoying his shake. "And here, I thought you would be hurt from battling your friend, but I see I was far from right." Still, no response from Maxwell. Yami decided to get into Maxwell's head now. "Anyway, after Sandy left with me and you and your friends left, we had the best passionate breeding that lovers can have. Sure Sandy's cries for uki were soft and high pitched, but it was great for both of us. If you only knew how-"

"Enough!" Maxwell yelled and glared Yami down.

"Now that I have your attention, we can cut to the chase. Don't expect to get any mercy from me, I will take you down."

"Why don't you go wank in the bathroom from those obvious wet dreams of Sandy you're having?"

"No matter, after you've been beaten, Sandy will be mine for the pleasure of uki."

"You'll never have Sandy, not on my watch you won't."

"Well then, after the break, show me how much of her honor you're willing to fight for...." and with those words, Yami left Maxwell to his shake.

_I didn't pull an all-nighter for nothing, Yami._ Maxwell thought as he continued to enjoy his shake. _I did it for three reasons: 1) To show the hams that I know how to fend for myself on the floor. 2) Because of a promise I gave to Sandy. And most importantly, 3) So I can prove that all your dissing me is jusst fluke talk. You'll soon understand that I'm not the joke you take me as, and when you finally realize this, it'll be too late for you to defend againsst my floorrunning assault. Tic, tock, the Tic Tock Clock. Time's running out for Ya-mi!_

"There you are Max, you all right man?" Jam asked.

"Just had to tell off a certain egotist of a ham, nothing serious." Maxwell answered.

"I see."

"Jam, don't get me wrong or anything, but I've learned that certain things I must do on my own.... this is one of them. I want to thank you for being tough on me, it worked and helped."

"That was your dedication that saw you through to where you are now. Remember that as long as you enjoy yourself, you have nothing to worry about. Just give it your all."

"Don't worry, I will. Gotta go, watch over me, buddy."

And off Maxwell ran. "On my watch, no harm comes to anyone....."

once the break was over the last bits of the first round continued. Yami stood on the floor waiting for Maxwell to show up. _If he doesn't get here within the next ten seconds, he'll be DQed._ he thought.

Maxwell shoed up on time, "I really wish there was a closer bathroom. I almost left without washing my paws, but I took the extra time to do so." he said.

"Well at least you showed up." said Yami. "Now it's time for you to fall."

"Sorry, but this time, I'm not losing to you."

"We shall see."

_It's time to show you what I've learned from going at it all night...._

Noah and Dandy Lion were nearby watching this, as were Boss and Hamina. Everything was set up. The mode was on heavy, speed x2, the first song turned out to be The Least 100 sec. and the hams shook with what seemed like an iron grip. As the song began, it was fast and Maxwell had to readjust his pace to keep up with it, Yami was doing well. _It's the first match and you're already having problems? It's already over...._ he thought.

_Focus, Maxwell, remember why you're here..._ Maxwell thought to himself.

"Do you really think Maxwell can win?" asked Dandy Lion.

"Not a chance," Noah answered, "I just don't see it."

"Maybe you need to open your eyes, Noah."

Noah turned to see Boss. "My vision's fine."

"Just remember who showed us the ropes."

_I know 'The One' has trained all of you, but this one needs more training._

"Well, this is an improvement from that lousy start you had." said Yami.

"Speed was a bit fast for me, had to land my footing properly." said Maxwell. _Don't worry about me, I'm going to make sure you learn to give me some respect._

One minute has passed into the song and it was starting to get tricky, but even though tricky, Maxwell proved he could hold the fort down. Jam had showed up to see Maxwell's battle, but kept his distance from Boss and the other hams. _Okay Max, this is where that all nighter pays off._ he thought. _If you can put it down here, Yami shouldn't stand a chance._

"Getting too cocky over there." said Maxwell.

"I set my pacing too slow, that's all." said Yami.

"Are you sure it's not too fast?"

"Positive."

"Positive, I'm sorry you have HIV."

"Don't test your luck, Maxwell."

"Go ahead, push me off the floor, get DQed."

"I plan on beating you fair and square, not on a technicality."

"I see."

"Song's almost over, stay alive now."

Come song's end, both boys take a "B" rank. "So, where to now?" asked Maxwell.

"It wouldn't be fair if I picked, so you choose the next song." said Yami. "This tie will soon be broken."

"Fine, I know exactly what to put you on...."

_So what's your next move, Max?_ thought Jam.

"Ah..... Wil 'o' the Wisp, this will do."

With that, the settings shoed up and Yami went to 1.5 speed. Maxwell was shocked. "You're slowing it down?" asked Maxwell.

"This song has 210 bpm, I'm not stupid." said Yami.

"Easy freestyle."

Yami jumped away from Maxwell. "You must be joking, even I can't freestyle this song, it's too fast!"

"Watch and learn."

_Maxwell must be mad if he thinks he can freestyle this song. I don't even think Noah can freestyle Wil 'o' the Wisp._

_You chose a hard song to freestyle, I hope he pulls this off._ thought Kit-n-Kat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the hams are watching the match on the big screen. "Maxwell's gonna freestyle Wil 'o' the Wisp." said Cappy.

"Whoa, this I gotta see." said Stan.

"Me too." agreed Sparkle.

"Good luck, Maxwell." said Hamtaro and the second stage began. It was going fine for the first few seconds, then the song kicked into gear. Not a problem for Maxwell though, he had this song to a tee. The booklover wasn't even looking at the screen, which put a lot of heat on Yami's steps. Yami was holding his on, but those goods were starting to get to him. _Holy pumpkin seed, I haven't seen a single great yet._ he thought. _He's really freestyling this song..... and with accuracy to boot. Man, get a good already._

"Yo Kit, you watching this?" asked Rage.

"I'm too afraid to blink." answered Kit-n-Kat.

"That's a first..."

_.............Wow........._ is all Jam can think.

"Did he miss yet?" asked Cappy.

"So far, only one great, the rest was flawless." answered Stan.

"Good, the song's slowing down." said Oxnard.

"It'll speed up again in time."

"Hey Noah, Dandy Lion, I have a cure for lockjaw." said Boss. "If you need it, just raise your paw."

_This crowd's way too quiet, time to change that._ thought Hamina. "Go Maxwell, you can do it!" she cheered.

"Sis, are you watching this?" asked Trav."

"Yes I am, and it doesn't look good for Yami." answered Blossom.

Maxwell fed off the cheers of the crowd and put a serious hurting on Yami's guage. _How the hell is he doing this...._ Yami wondered as he struggled to hold on.

"It's over, it's all over." said Emi.

"Hey Kit, did you blink yet?" asked Rage.

"No." answered Kit-n-Kat.

_Maxwell, my headset goes off to you on this song._ thought Jam.

"Two greats and the rest flawless, Maxwell's got this in the bag." said Stan.

"That's a lot of style points." said Panda.

"Tch, that's all style points." said Hamtaro.

"Too bad Sandy's not watching zhis match weeth us." said Bijou.

Maxwell was ripping the floor up with this song, _No stopping me... ain't no stopping me._ was all that went through his mind. The song was over and Maxwell eventually had only three greats, and he literally swiped a three star grade to maxwell's "C" grade. The Crowd chanted Maxwell's name. However, a lot of people weren't too happy with that grade Maxwell got. "Dumb luck, just dumb luck." said Boss.

"Why do you say that?" asked Dandy Lion.

"Because that's what saved your brother, Maxwell clearly had that 'V' and everyone knows it."

"That's not right, we have to debate that grade, he clearly won this match with that performance." said Kit-n-Kat.

"If he didn't freestyle that, he'd have earned the 'V', but that was his choice. The grade is fair on my account." said Emi.

_Max, you had the undisputed singles floormaster watch your performance without blinking..._ thought Jam. _You are now elite, welcome to Floormaster Status my friend._

Yami was stunned. _He had me beat...._ he thought. _but I held on, and in doing so, I robbed him of his 'V'. But that was way too close for comfort, I can't let that happen again._

_It doesn't matter what Yami chooses, I'll wisp him again for the victory, it's time to give Yami the old heave-ho._ thought a confident Maxwell.

"Wow Noah, Yami might actually lose." said Dandy Lion.

"I don't say this much," said Noah, "but I'm impressed with a performance like that."

"I see you're feeling that heat." said Boss. "And you should, maybe next time you'll think twice not to diss any of us... because that might be your fate, Noah."

"It's time to finish this once and for all, Yami." said Maxwell.

"I agree, this is the final song." said Yami.

"Choose well." _It doesn't matter which song you pick, your outcome will remain the same... your loss._

"A will do. Time to end this match."

"Just as I would've said."

_Okay, take him out Maxwell, you can do it._ Boss thought and then the match began.

Jam watch on in the crowd , as Boss and Hamina watched nearby and the other hams were watching on the screen. "Have you guys seen Sandy?" asked Hamtaro.

"Who cares, the match between Yami and Maxwell is underway." said Pashmina."

"This should be interesting, since Maxwell put a dagger in Yami's pride last song I mean." said Stan.

_So far, no goods. Keep steppin, Maxy._ maxwell thought to himself.

_Not gonna happen, you lose buddy boy._ thought Yami.

The music gave its pause.... "Here we go." said Maxwell, then the musci kicked in the pants. The people clapped with the music ans Yami and Maxwell continued to step to A. The judges watched this one afriad to blink. "This one is really close, Rage." said Emi.

"Very..." said Rage. "It all comes down to who wants it more now."

"You've got this brother, finish him." said Noah.

"Stay strong, Maxwell!" cheered Hamina.

It was necked out, all the way to the finish. On the last step, Maxwell turned to hit the step perfectly, he looked at the crowd and was greeted with their applause when the music stopped. Meanwhile, Sandy had rejoined the hams. "Where have you been, you missed a great match?" asked Cappy.

"I saw it, Mawell totally ripped it up down there..." answered Sandy.

"No way, that's just wrong!" Pashmina yelled.

"What a rip, Maxwell had that won...." said Stan.

On the floor, Maxwell couldn't believe his eyes. _That's not fair._ he thought. Another triple A score for our bookworm, but the "V" on Yami's side of the screen took it all.

_Sometimes it happens that way.... tough break, Max._ Jam thought. _But I feel for you, that happened to me once..._

Sandy saw the scores and was taken, but the scores weren't what got her... it was how Maxwell was on his paws and knees, devistated because he had lost.... _Maxy...._ Sandy thought, then ran from the group.

"Hmf. Well brother, another adversary defeated." said Yami.

"Nicely battled Yami, nicely battled." said Noah.

"Nicely battled? Yami, you just got lucky, that is it and all." said Boss with folded arms.

"A win's a win, no matter how it's won." said Yami. He then turned his attention to Maxwell. "Hey, bookworm, you can get up now, it's over... Hey, get up. Yo, are you even listening to me?!"

Maxwell was crushed, _I had that won, but I lost...._ he thought. _It's not fair, it's not fair....._ tears were welling up in his eyes.

Yami saw this. "Get up already and quit yer crying. There's no reason for you to be shedding tears over stuff like this. You did your best, now get the hell up already."

"Hey, knock it off." said Boss. "Just leave him alone."

"Hey, there's something wrong with the machine, Maxwell haaad this tied, if not won." said Kit-n-Kat.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Kit." said Rage. "Yami proved that he wanted it more, so he rightfully won this match. But you have to give Maxwell credit, he DID get robbed."

"I must say, that was really hard to play." said Yami.

"Maxwell...."

"Well, well, here comes Sandy." Yami walked from his sibs to meet Sandy. "Sandy, your timing is impeccable. I'm glad you-"

"Move out of the way Yami." said Sandy and went right passed him.

_I don't get it.... I won..._

Sandy, knelt down in front of Maxwell. "Maxy, hey Maxy. Please say something to me." she whispered to him, worried as she saw is zoned stare into a void. "Maxwell, it's me, Sandy."

"Sandy...." was all Maxwell let out.

"Hey, don't cry, it's okay.... you did really great. Like, don't be angry at yourself because you lost, we all lose sometimes. When we do, all that can be done is stand up, brush it off and get a great feeling from it all..."

"But..."

"I'm right here, look at me, Maxwell..."

Maxwell looked into Sandy's eyes, which had tears of worry in them and took his aw to her cheek. "Lemme help you up." Sandy said.

"O-kay." said Maxwell.

Yami watched stunned as Sandy and Maxwell rose to their feet. _Even though he lost to me, and I earned the right to be with her, she still chose him over me?....._ he thought. _Well, I guess it's fine and dandy then._

"Do you feel better, Maxy?" asked Sandy.

"Yeah, a whole lot better now." answered Maxwell.

"You got robbed, but you were great." said Hamina.

"Thanks..."

Yami stood to Maxwell. "Well, I won, but you stole the show this day." he said, then extended his paw.

Maxwell shook paws with Yami, "I may have lost this time, but it won't happen again." he said. "Be ready for me next time, I'll really be a force to be reckined with then."

"You already are one."

Yami and Maxwell share a laugh. As Sandy and Maxwell walk away arm over arm, Sandy gives him a much deserved kiss. _Hmm, the dullest blade has become even sharper then the precision blades, nicely played, Max, nicely played._ thought Jam. _Now that you've become a floormaster, there is much for you to learn...._

Five minutes later..... the announcer took the stage. "Well now, this concludes the first round of playoffs. Tomorrow, we'll continue the tournament and decie our floormasters. So until then, stay strong dancers..."

das it for this chap peeps, review.


	16. prepare your mettle

Okay peeps, season two time. With the first round of the "dance-off" over, it's time to see which of your favorite hams gets through to the next round. With that said and done, on with the show.

The next day at the clubhouse, the hams had a little roll call. "Well hams, everyone's here, right?' asked Boss.

"Of course we're here, Boss." Oxnard answered.

"Hold on, where are Jam and Roll?" asked Hamtaro.

"Who cares, they're probably at the fun park waiting for us." said Sparkle.

"Yeah dudes, let's get going already." said Stan.

"Points taken, let's go, hams." said Boss.

The hams made it to the arcade where the Floormaster's Ball was being held and began their stretches. "Hey you guys, are you ready for today?" asked Roll.

"Ready as always." answered Stan.

"Where is Jam?" asked Bijou.

"He said he had some things to do, but he'll show up eventually." answered Roll.

"I sure hope he gets here, I know he'll be around for my battle against him." said Stan.

"Don't get too cocky, you won't make it through this round anyway." The hams turned to see Blossom and Trav. "This round, all of you are going down. " said Trav.

"And I'll be claiming what's mine as well." added Blossom.

"You Comets still can't go one day without causing problems, can you?" asked Boss.

"Pipe it, Boss."

"Why don't I pipe my foot your little-"

"Boss, be nice, you don't want to stoop to their level." said Roll.

"Stoop, you mean climb, sister." said Trav.

"No, I really meant stoop. You see, even though it happened a while back, these hams still have a bitter taste in their mouths about you know what."

"Roll, how many times have I told you that you really shouldn't go into that mode with other hams." Jam said as he approached the crew. "Some hams can't deal with your style of speech."

"I know, I'm sorry." said Roll.

"Just try to remember, huh?"

After that, the MC made the following announcement: "Okay ladies and germs, gather 'round competitors, I wanna explain this part quickly." All participants in the Floormaster's Ball took their spots, then the MC continued. "I want to say congrats to all the dancers that made it through the prelims, but don't get too excited just yet. As most seasoned veterans know, from here on out is where the **real** competition begins. The judges have now agreed to give you full version songs for the remainder of the tournament, and yes, a full song is worth two victory stars. All the machines have been updated as well and have a variety of songs for every floor. We're going to make another steep cut like we did in the prelims, so good luck to all who make it and keep out of trouble."

Cheers were had and the hams went back to stretching. "Well Pashmina, we can finally have at our song in this tournament." said Dexter.

"That's right, we can..." said Pashmina. "And we can pick up the two points on it as well."

"No problem for us, we're taking it home aren't we Sparkle?" said a confident Stan.

"No contest." said Sparkle.

"You couldn't be more wrong, Sparky." Jam corrected.

All the hams turned their attention to Jam. "How so, Jam?" asked Bijou.

"You didn't hear anything did you? There's gonna be a very steep cut here. I want all of you to have fun and be sportsmanlike as well, since all of you trained long and hard to be here. However, keep this in mind.... Before the end of this round, all of you, including myself, well have their mettles tested."

"Medals tested?" asked a confused Hamtaro. "But I'm ham and blood."

"What I mean is, during this round, all of us will be tested on the floor on who wants to move on more..... And some tests will come earlier than others." Jam points to the screen.

The gang looks to the screen to see that off the bat, Stan and Sparkle have to face off against Cappy and Penelope. However, the shocker was that Boss was facing off against Yami, which of course stunned many of the hams. "Well Boss, this is your chance to get rid of one of the comets." said Stan.

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" questioned Boss, no fear was on that ham.

"Get him good for me, Boss." requested Maxwell.

"Worry not you guys, things will be fine."

"Well, let's get giggin' ev'rbody, time to roll." said Jam and off the hams went.

It's a short chap, but hey, tis 3:30 in the morning. So peeps, how are you gonna vote this time? Here's the choice for now:

Stan/Sparkle v Cappy/Penelope

Remember peeps, review and vote for the outcome. Later!


	17. facing your dancefloor demons

Well everyone, the voting portion for this chapter was a bit of a downer, but at least the votes were counted. Anyway, time to get on with the next chapter. I'll be putting Haily in now, so if she's reading, it's time for your appearance.

Cappy and Penelope had a pile of seeds to share before their match against Stan and Sparkle. Even though they've managed to get by Sandy and Panda, Stan and Sparkle seemed to be tougher on those floors than their previous friends. _I sure hope Cappy and I do well this round._ thought Penelope. _As long as we give it our all, I'll be happy with our outcome._

"Well Pen, we'll be going up against two more friends soon." Cappy reminded.

"Okyoo." said Penelope.

"Just remember that we can do it together and everything will be fine."

Sparkle had another idea on this matchup. "We are definitely gonna beat those runts." she said.

"Hey, watch your mouth." Stan warned.

"Sorry Stanley, but even though we're all on the same side, only one team can win this tournament. You heard what Jam said earlier about having to face our allies, didn't you?"

"I remember, but don't call them runts. Cappy's learned to hold his own and the Comet Crew wanted to recruit Penelope, that means something."

"Tch, that means nothing."

"Just don't get too cocky that you lose, Sparks. We have scores to settle you know."

_Believe me, I know. I also have a reputation to avenge out of all this._ thought Sparkle. The events before the tourney still played in her mind. "Well, let's get this show on the road."

On the singles side, Boss and Yami stepped up to the floor and their battle was undergoing. "Now I'll get to witness your textbook dancing first hand instead of watching from the crowd." said Yami.

"Yup." Boss said.

"Don't think you'll be able to beat me because you learned how to step in a book instead where it should've been learned, Boss."

"Okay."

"Funny... you're not so talkative as you usually are."

"That's because I want you to shut up and pick already."

"Don't tell me you're scared."

"Hurry up before time runs out. I'll let my feet converse with you, not my mouth."

"Boss is really focused on this match against Yami, brother." said Ice.

"Indeed," agreed Noah, "but we'll see how he handles defeat soon enough."

Yami started things off with Burning Heat and set his floor exactly at 3x speed. Boss matched them and their song was underway. Meanwhile, Cappy and Penelope decided to open with the full song, Jet World Tour. As the boys and girls shook hands, this contest began. The start off was great for both teams, all four were on beat throughout the first part. "This isn't like Jet World at all." Said Sparkle.

"Of course not, it's the tour.... good luck to you." said Cappy.

Blossom and Trav, were watching this match, as they would face the winner. Kit-N-Kat was also watching how Penelope would fair in this song. It took three minutes and Penelope was already gone. Sparkle stepped too it alone, keeping her guage at the halfway mark. "I can make it... it's tricky, but I'll be okay." said Cappy.

"Good, it's almost over too." said Stan.

"Thank goodness, I'm getting tired."

_Your meter's almost gone, Cappy. Can you make it, I hope so...._

_It doesn't matter if I fail or not, we got this won._ thought Sparkle.

Cappy made it to the home stretch, but that stretch took his guage. Stan and Sparkle danced on to victory, how sweet it was. After it was over, Stan and Sparkle took a "B" each, but it didn't mater. They moved on to face the Comets in the doubles competition, and earned the right to settle their score. _Penelope worked really hard to get here, but she couldn't stand up to a long song off the bat._ thought Kit-N-Kat. _Her skills on normal songs are incredible, but she needs more work on these long version-type songs. Give her time and she'll be a grand and formidible Floormaster._

Boss ended up with a "D" after the first song while Yami aced it. "You aren't so tough on the floor, are you?" asked Yami.

"Just a warm up, nothing serious." said Boss.

"Well you better get serious if you plan on standing a chance."

"Gee, you sound like you're threatened by me."

"I do NOT!"

"Then Shaddup already."

"Just pick the friggin song."

"You want serious, fine. Serious you'll get, but you won't like it."

Boss chose a rather difficult song, Orion. 78 civilization mix for the next routine.

As the song began, Boss moved into the music, then came the blitz of steps which caugh Yami off guard. _Whoa, that's a bit faster than I thought it'd be._

Noah simply shook his head as he saw his brother struggle. _This is what you get for trying to anticipate a song._ he thought. _Remember Yami, it's how the steps are set, not the BPM, that make a song._

"Hey, Yami, you're not looking too good." said Boss. "I guess you wished I hadn't decided to get serious with you, huh?"

"Shut up and step." said Yami. _You'll pay for this, Boss._

"I love this part--Asaba..... ai ya.... dum dum dum, dum dum dum... hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey."

Boss continues to sing... _You're gonna pay for this.... what the--Not again!_

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey......"

_Kuso.... kuso... kuso.... kuso.... kusooooooo!_

"This is bad, Yami's not doing too well, help him Noah!" Dandy Lion yelled.

"This is his fight, I can only watch." Noah said mythotically.

_Poor Yami, he's really in pain._ thought Boss. _It's what his butt gets. Once again, I'll have to set these Comets straight. Sometimes I wonder if those guys ever learn..._

For Yami, the pain.... just like the song, was over. The elite ham took an "E" grade while Boss' "A" satisfied the ham ham leader. "That's just sad, I Floormaster of your calibur taking the worse possible grade on a routine? I can't believe my eyes." Boss clowned Yami.

"You **will** pay for this insult." shot Yami.

"Insult it right, I expected you to get no lower than a 'C' grade, but to fail a stage.... at least you're still alive. But seriously, that was pitiful."

Yami simply ignored the last one and went to pick his stage. _You better pick one hell of a song._ thought Noah.

"Let's see you stand up to Mr. Larpus and tell the tale." said Yami.

That song clicked in Boss' mind. _No, not this song..... anything but this song...._ It was here on Mr. Larpus that Boss lost Bijou to Hamtaro, he didn't survive and ended up giving up the ghost at the very end of the song. Since that night, Mr. Larpus haunted him, and now.... Larpus was face him again. As the song started out, it was much different than how he played and lost to it before, off the bat came the speed. _Crud, this must be the full version of Mr. Larpus he chose..._

"Someone's having problems." said Yami.

"I never played the full version of this song before, it's a first for me." said Boss. "But I must thank you Yami, for now I can face my one feared demon."

Halfway through the song, Boss continued to struggle, but he held on with goods. _Man, I better not fail this one, or it's over for me._

"Give it up Boss, you're finished." said Yami. "You will fail, just as you have failed before."

Boss balled his paw and kept on playing the floor. He resisted slugging Yami in the kisser even though he wanted to badly.... his patience and calm head rewarded him later. Despite the many good beats he had, Boss managed to tie Yami with a "B" ranking. "Well Boss, seems like you were afraid of that song." said Yami.

"Let's just say Larpus and I don't really get along." said Boss.

"Well, it's your pick."

"Yami, one thing we all need to do is face our demons. Now since you helped me face a demon of mine, I will return the favor."

Boss chose the full version of Xenon as the next play. both playere set their routines accordingly and the song began to play. "Good luck facing this demon."

"Whatever..."

The song started out simple for both of them, but as the first verse came in, the pattern became familiar to its shorter version. Boss messed up a bit, but not too much to hurt him as Yami went on. The bridge came in early and it took its toll a bit on Boss. Yami's steps were starting to whittle at his guage, _Focus already, you're doing this for the hams._ Boss mentally told himself. _Shake it off._

_What this fool doesn't know is that I've had time on this song before._ thought Yami. _He should've picked something else._

"So who do you think's gonna win this one?" Rage asked Emi.

"Dunno, but this might be close." answered Emi.

"Boss, you really should try harder than this, it's sad really." said Yami.

"Fine, whatever you say." said Boss and he picked it up. Soon the tables had turned as Boss began to show some style which threw Yami off guard. The chorus came in and Boss' style points had drained Yami's guage, a Comet goes down. "Bah, impossible..." said Yami.

"Step up off, Yami. Step up off." said Boss. _Maxwell, everyone, this battle is for you._

The bridge came in again and Boss' style continued, the clubhouse leader literally broke on the arrows hitting them properly. On the end step of the bridge, Boss did a genie spin, since it was a freeze. The bridge repeated and on the end freeze, Boss spun around on his head. The crowd was behind Boss all the way as he made a good, but danced strong into the end of the song. Normally, his grade would be a "B", but his style boosted him to an "A" rank. The crowd chants his name and Boss bows to the crowd. "Thank-q, thank-q." Boss then turned to the Comets. "Not bad for 'Textbook Floordancing' is it, Noah?"

"I'll admit, 'The One' has taught you well, despite this style of yours is from the books." said Noah.

"You know you love it."

"That style of dancing won't save you from me."

"We'll see."

Hamina was getting some eatables and bumped into another hamster. "Sorry about that, I didn't see you there."

"Why don't you open up those small eyes of yours then?" She said.

"Hey, don't all bent out of shape, it was only an accident."

"Yeah right. No matter, I'll be facing you next anyway, so I'll take you out on the floor where it should be settled."

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"You don't know who I am? You ingrate, such disrespect.... how about you opening those eyes of yours and see me."

Then it hit Hamina. "Those stars, you mean that you're-"

"I am. My name is Haily Nebula, but you know and refer to me as...." strikes pose. "The Dancing Star!"

Hamina walked away. "That pose needs work, but I'll see you later anyway. I'm sure you don't wanna eat with ingrates like me."

_Hmph, I'll see to you later._

as you can see, I underlined the names of the songs, I'll do that from now on. til next chap. Review peeps.


	18. title battle

Well, since the story got burned away, I might as well get to the other side of this chap, so let's get this over with.

Despite all the exitement, tension, and of course competition going on, the hams and the rest of the tourney's competitors got their treat of seeing the floormasters dance for fun. Though many of the participants thought of this gratuitous display as practice for the winners of the singles and doubles division. The quarter finals were upon everyone and were going right away. Hamina took to the stage with a deep breath, it was in this stage where she had to face off against her newfound enemy, The Dancing Star. "Well sister, it's time to put up or shut up." DS began. "I hope you had a lot of fond memories of this tournament, because you crash and burn here."

"I'm glad you see your own demise." said Hamina.

"You stuck up little rat..."

"Practice what you preach, sister."

"Just for that, Hamina, you get no mercy... or courtesy from me. I deserve more respect than this, and I plan on forcing it out of you."

"Dream on, sister. You're just a bunch of lip and hip to me."

"That remark, will be on your dance floor grave as I send you to Floormaster Hell."

The Dancing Star started things off with The Shining Polaris, which of course was her trademark song. _I normally don't start with this song, but I'll use it to meter your skill._ she thought. _Consider yourself lucky to be graced with this music off the bat, after all, I am the intercontinental champ._

_This chick is too uptight, hopefully this is just a phase._ Hamina mentally told herself.

Noah had his eyes on this match as well, _I'll see first hand how well the IC can demolish this brat._ he thought to himself. Then the match began.

On another side of the tournament, Jam and Roll cleanly won their quarter final round. "No sweat, huh Jam?" asked Roll.

"Show you rye." Jam answered, but not with his usual flare.

Roll noticed this, "Is something the matter?"

"I just been thinking, that's all."

"About what?"

"The final battle..... But let's take stuff one step at a time, it's easier this way."

"That's the Jam I know. Let's grab some pasta, I'm hungry."

"I'm in the mood for some louigi anyway."

"Louigi? Can we eat another pasta, like those bowtie looking ones?"

"Yeah, why not?"

The girls were doing nicely even though the Star was leading. "At least I'm hanging ten." said Hamina.

"No girl, you're gonna lose. Your defeat has been predicted in the stars." DS shot at her.

"I don't believe in that nonesense."

"You better start."

_I really shouldn't stay any longer, I have my match to get to. Not that it matters anyway. Dancing Star has this won._ said Noah and off he walked.

The song came to an end, and the star of the Star shined brighter than Hamina's "A". Hamina was ready to choose her next song only to find that the Star was choosing another one. "Hey, I lost that round, it's my pic."

"You tournament n00b, from here on out, the winners choose the songs." DS corrected. "So stop the sob story and deal with it."

Hamina simply laughed at her. "Man, you sleigh me."

"What's so funny?"

"The fact that you're a stubborn broad."

"What'd you just call me?"

"Don't get mad, pick your song."

Next up on the routine was Logical Dash and Hamina was simply thrilled at that part. This song started out interesting and the beats were simple, but once the song decided to kick it up a notch, the tru test was on. Dancing Star and Hamina were borderline sync to the music, but the difference was in greats. _Typical girl she is._ Hamina thought. _Hiding behind her title, it's a sad shame. But unlike most champs, she actually works a little._ The song was done quickly and Hamina had beaten the Star by one great, even though both girls had a two star grade. "I had less greats than you did, it's my pic."

"Whatever, just go."

Hamina chose Broken My Heart for the third song and the girls paced themselves for the routine. "So tell me, do you always use the fact that your the IC to get your way in competitions?" asked Hamina.

"And what the hell does that mean?" DS questioned Hamina.

"I knew it, it's clearly obvious. You use the fact that your title to strike fear into your opponents. 'I'm the Intercontinental Champion, show me the respect I deserve.' Or maybe you use, 'I'm the IC of these games, you're not worth my time.', or perhaps some other phrase where you hide behind your title."

"You're just jealous because a novice like you can't apreciate a high ranked dancer like myself."

"You are an egocentric broad who only thinks that her ranks is the reason she's better than everyone. When are you gonna learn that titles are meaningless, skill is something that comes from practice and the heart.... not from the title."

_.....That saying.... No way, that saying was from.... "Him," it's from "The One."_ "You got that saying from 'Him' didn't you?"

"Him who?"

"'The One', he said that while being interviewed after his victory over The Comet Crew. How do you know 'Him'?"

"Oh, that guy.... he trained me."

"......"

Hamina won again and it was her pick. "I don't believe he trained you." DS said. "'The One' takes no students."

"Man, don't you guys no his name?" Asked Hamina.

"Only the Comets themselves do. Now myself, I was in that very tournament that 'The One' beat the Comets. However, I lost because of one great step. I read the papers after that day and he said that very phrase."

"Everyone read that story."

"Hell yeah everyone read it. But the fact remains, no one knows 'His' name. Even the World Champs don't know his name."

_That has to be a lie._ "Well, he's in the doubles tournament."

"No matter, once I beat you, I'll gain a higher status. Beating a student of 'The One' will put me just under the world champs."

"Man you're pitiful, all you think about is ranking. And even if you beat me, which you won't... despite what the stars have told you, Boss would whomp you. But enough lip, time for more hip."

AM-3P was next up on the list and the Star knew a loss here was no option. A victory had to be won here or she'd be out. Meanwhile, Hamtaro and Bijou sat at their table. "Well Hamtaroo, we're in the semis." said Bijou. "Things are gonna be great."

"Yeah right." said Hamtaro.

"What's your deal?"

"We have to go through Jam and Roll to get into the finals."

"Does Zat matter?"

"Oui."

"Wrong! So what if we were trained by him, eet will not matter."

"I'm glad you're confident." said Jam, who just walked up with Roll.

"Well next time, eet's us versus vous... and we'll be heading towards the finals."

"About our semifinal match..." Jam began. "We have two ways of going about it. One, we pick the songs we're dominant at, end up tying and none of us get to the finals."

"Next." said Hamtaro.

"All new routines, songs we've never played before. This way, no member or team has an edge."

"Having cold feet, non?"

"Funny, your toes shiver at my idea."

"Come on, Bijou. Afraid to try some new stuff against us?" questioned Roll. "You'll never learn if you don't try."

"Roll-chan, you make a very good bluff." said Bijou. "But as true as eet ees..."

"We accept." Hamtaro finished for her.

"I wasn't going to say zat, Hamtaroo."

"Come on Bijou, have some faith in your talents. Like you said before, 'Eet will not matter.'"

"Unless of course, she's scared." said Jam.

"Fine, new routines zen."

"Cool, see you later." and with that, Jam and Roll went tiki tiki away.

This round was going pretty well between Hamina and Dancing Star. The two were halfway through the song and it was necked out. "This round is really close." said Kit-n-Kat. "Perhaps what Stan said isn't true after all. He may have mentioned that 'The One' is in the doubles, but Emi believes this person is a girl and possibly in the singles competition. But I can tell by her skill that Hamina is **not** 'The One'. Seven more to go."

"I had you all wrong, you aren't half bad once you get the right song." DS said.

"You better gimme a tough run, you're behind." said Hamina.

The girls danced on and at the end of the stage, the Star's higher perfect count gave her the round. The stage was set again... "You won't win that easily." said our Star.

"Well, your victory tied the match yet again." said Hamina. "So pic the next song."

"Synchronized Love will do this time."

"I see, well let's get this on."

The fifth and final routine started quickly and things were at a good pace. The run of course was tight. Jam was watching this bout with a calm frame. _I must say, this is really close._ he thought. _The Dancing Star's giving Hamina a run for her money. But then again, the Star is the IC at the moment._ He sipped his drink and watched the girls dance.

"This is a good chain, you know how to survive." said Hamina.

"This game is mine." DS said.

The girls continued to dance all the way to the end of the song. But this time around, the girls tied that round. Hamina turned to the champion, "I take it you wanna pick this round too..." she said.

"Not really, I want this tiebreaker decided at random." DS said.

Hamina chose the last song by way of Roulette and it turned out to be the symphonic defoggers version of Rugged Ash. Jam downed his drink as the music kicked in. _I've never did this one before, perhaps I should watch this song as they dance to it._ he thought.

The two girls shook and then turned to the screen, then the steps began. The steps at times were tricky, but the girls got through it. Jam of course, watching and shadowing the routine as the girls went on with their routine. "Man, this song's tricky." said DS.

"Not that bad." said Hamina.

Near the song's end, the girls had the final steps which were quicky and tricky. Both girls passed the song. "Well that's it...." said DS.

"I'm happy no matter what happens." said Hamina.

As the final scores came up, Hamina had five hundred points more than the Dancing Star, making her spot in the semifinals guaranteed. The IC was livid, "How the hell did I lose?" she steamed. "I lost by a small margin again?!"

"Get over it, sister. It's only a half-thousand points." said Hamina.

"No, I will not accept this."

"You don't have much choice."

The Star slapped Hamina, "Screw you, sister!"

"You really are a stubborn broad. Just as I knew you were, typical champion. All you care about is winning and rankings that that's become your first priority, I never think of this that way. To me, this is just a game, not the whole world like you think it is. Let's face it, it's over now, you gave it your all and then some. Sometimes when you give it all it isn't given back to you. The world works in funny ways, so you have to deal with it. It doesn't matter that you lost at some game, it matters that you just have fun with it.

"Someday, when you understand that this is just a game **and only a game,** you'll finally see how this game works. So just let it go and learn from past mistakes, not repeat them."

"Tch, whatever. Just make sure you don't give this sob story to everyone you battle against. Oh well, you'll understand later once I'm avenged." The Dancing Star just left the stage. "Enjoy your fairy tale dances, sucker."


	19. the calm before the storm

Meanwhile, Stan and Sparkle sit at a table enjoying their seeds. Sparkle of course wearing the crown on her head as she had just won it ver Blossom in the match. "I must say, you really knew how to handle yourself on the floor that time, Sparky." said Stan.

"Did you ever have any doubts...." said a proud Sparkle.

"At times I did-"

"You little rat, how could you?"

"Hey, you didn't let me finish. At times I did have doubts, but I never lost faith in you."

"Aw, that's so sweet." Sparkle pecks Stan on the cheek. "So, now that we're in the semifinals, what do you plan on doing next?"

"Doesn't matter, I'm enjoying myself."

"Good, I will enjoy myself as well, the Comets are out of the doubles now, so it's all between us and who wants it more."

On the singles competition, it was now time for the guys to settle their scuffles on the floor. _Well, there are only two Comets left, Ice and Noah._ boss thought. _If I can get through this battle, getting to the final round will be a piece of cake. Noah will put up a fight... as he always seems to do, but he won't get far._

"I hope you've enjoyed yourself in this tournament, Boss." Noah began.

"Quite." said Boss.

"The quarter finals is a great spot for someone such as yourself, but your journey ends here. The semis belong to me, and your defeat will bring me one step closer to my goal in this tournament."

"And what might that goal be?"

"Regaining my reputation and the reputation of my family that was stolen from us by 'The One'... and once Kit-n-Kat falls to me, no longer will the Comet name be disgraced."

Boss threw his helmet into the ground. "Noah, that's enough. I've heard this same song and dance from you since before the tournament began. It's the same song and dance with you..."

"**Quiet!** It's obvious that a fool like you would never understand what my family and I have been through."

"Here's an idea, why don't you tell me the **real** reason why you're like this? Let's hear the truth for once, Noah.... You say you're in this to get the reputation of your family back because of some loss..."

"**This was not 'some loss!'**"

"Yeah right... all this for one loss. You and your kin lost to him once and this is the excuse you have for winning this tournament, 'To reclaim your name?' That is grade A bull-"

"Watch your tongue."

"Look Noah, your problem is you're nothing but a crybaby. A sore loser who can't stand to have someone beat him in a game."

"This is not a game, no. This is **war!**"

"War my ass. Your reason for this is simply revenge. That's all you want, vengence... Vengence for yourself, vengence from what the papers said about you, vengence from all the ridicule and big white lies that have befallen you. This isn't about your family, this is about yourself."

"Take that back, THIS INSTANT!"

"Hmf. The truth hurts, don't it?"

"Lies give more hurt than Truth."

"You and your family lost to 'him' long ago, and you're the only one that hasn't gotten over it. You've turned it into a hatred, a mission, something on your 'to do list' as it were, but the fact is you can't get over one defeat. It eats away at you so much it drives you mad."

"Damn straight."

"You remind me of someone from that Yu-Gi-Oh cartoon I saw on TV. What's his name.... oh yes. You remind me of Seto Kaiba."

"How so?"

"Seto Kaiba was the world's best Duel Monsters champion. No one could ever beat him at this card game, to him... 'Duel Monsters is all about power.' But one day, some virtual unknown named Yugi Muto beat him at the very game. Since that day, he wondered and remembered how someone who was never even heard of, could beat a world champ like him. He even dropped out of some tournament that he had registered for, and was the odds-on fave to win, before his loss. Sure Kaiba got a pity victory over him, but Yugi won the tournament. Even much time after, he devised his own tournament and Kaiba faced Yugi in the semifinals with one thing on his mind, revenge. And even though Kaiba battled with every bit of power, every once of skill that he could muster and then some, Yugi won over him.

"Why? Because it was Kaiba's hatred and rage towards Yugi that kept him from winning. 'My rage is what fuels me to fight on.' Kaiba said, but in the end it still brought him to defeat. Yugi of course, won Kaiba's tournament with a clear head."

"Like you said, that was some cartoon. This is **real life** you fool. And whatever happened in that TV show will never happen in real life."

"Okay, let's just say you do win this tournament fueled by your hatred towards that loss and you restore your name. What then?"

"Then I can move on with the life of my family and my own and everyone will know the name Comet and never dare mock it again."

Boss shook his head. "Yup, exactly like Seto Kaiba. He wanted to defeat Yugi and afterwards wanted to forget about the past and move on with his life.

"But you missed one important thing, the only name you'd clear like that is your own. Your other family members would still be 'mocked' as you say. And judging by your current thirst for power, you won't even let your own kin stand in your way to achieve it. Your hiding your own selfish gain in saying your doing this for your family. Truth is, all you've done is use them as a shield to your own sadistic grudges and feuds that could've otherwise been let go. Instead however, you use them as fuel... NEGATIVE FUEL, to gain power all in the sake of 'repairing your repute and reclaiming your name.' Your other family members have learned to let go of that loss and change for the better, why can't you do that?"

"ENOUGH OF YOUR FOOLISH QUIVERS! We've stood here debating long enough and you've developed into a pain in my ass. It's time to get rid of you and reclaim my status as an elite floormaster like it once was. Then and only then, will I be able to let go."

Boss turned to Kit-n-Kat who was looking down and away from Noah and himself. _Boss, don't waste anymore breath on him._ he mentally told himself. _You have to show him the right reasons to do battle, to relax and enjoy yourself. This isn't competitive at all from Noah, he's just in it for power and his own selfish gains. I have to show him the **right** way and reasons to battle for. Hopefully, it'll clear his judgement and maybe, just maybe, Noah will see the error in his ways and finally let this burden off his back. I have a lot of faith in Hamina, but I don't think she'll stand a chance against Noah. I have to make sure that he loses and I move onto the finals. Maybe then.... he will finally understand._


	20. the leaders storm the floor

"I'm not as hateful as you might think, Boss. But since your defeat has already been fortold, I'll let you pick the first song." said Noah.

"Fine, I'll do just that." said Boss.

Boss started things off with Ordinary World. Once he took his spot on the stage, he looked over to Noah, then averted his gaze to the screen. The song opened up with some freezes, then the stepping came in, but Boss had to hand it to Noah. Though he proclaims that this floor is a war zone, his steps appear calm but forceful, like he's positively releasing his rage into each step. _Perhaps I had Noah all wrong on a few things..._ Boss thought.

_You're finished, fool. Victory is mine!_ thought Noah.

As the bridge kicked in, Boss sang to the song. "And I won't cry for yesterday, there's an Ordinary World... somehow I have to find..."

_Oh brother, he has to sing to it._ "This is a dance contest, not audition for Japan Idol." said Noah.

"Be lucky I'm singing on key."

The last few steps came to the song, then it was over. The grades were "A" to "B" in Noah's favor. "Now it's time for the plan to kick in." said Noah.

"Plan, what plan" asked Boss.

"Check the music."

Boss turned to the music and found that a few songs were playable as the others wer blacked out. "What the hell..."

"You finally understand now. See, before you showed up, I placed my memory card into the machine. The card is set on my own personal setting, Boss."

"Hey, that's not fair"

"Stop your complaining, the rules said nothing against the use cards in the tournament, so it's fair game."

"That's cheating, I don't have a memroy card for this game."

"And 'The One' didn't tell you about that? What a pity. Not that it matters, Boss. The only songs you can choose from are high level songs anyway, so choose already."

"_I wonder why Jam didn't mention cards to us anyway... Save it for later, Boss._ Well, he **did** say to expect everything, so I guess this is under the rank."

Boss scanned through the songs, since only the hard songs were choosable thanks to Noah's card, Boss found a lot of songs he couldn't handle. "Man, this sucks, I can't do a lot of these." said Boss.

"Pick a song, or forfeit." ordered Noah.

"I still got time left, so shaddup."

After a bit more searching, Boss found one tough song he'd played... only it was the full version of that song. "Well, I guess this song will have to do."

"Good, let's do it already."

For the next routine, Boss chose the full version of the song Sakura. _I've played the normal version to this song and gotten an "A" rank._ he thought. _Now I can truly test my mettle on this difficult song with it's full assault._ As the song began, Boss started to move with the rhythm... then in came the steps. Noah moved to them with his usual "force" as Boss was relaxed and stepping to them with a bit of freestyle to it. _So he knows how to move to this one, eh?_ Noah thought. _No matter, he'll still lose._

Kit-n-Kat was watching Boss' movements. _He seems to be enjoying himself,_ he thought. _But I highly doubt this guy was trained by 'The One' though. Sakura's a tough song, so this full version of it will tell me if he truly is one of 'The One's' students._

The beat began to kick up a notch and Boss was moving to it, but as the guage told him the tale, Noah wasn't doing so hot. "What's wrong, you holding back after all that lip you gave to me earlier? This isn't the Comet Crew eldest that I remember from our talk." said Boss.

"You and this accursed song..." Noah said.

"You didn't expect me to pick the full version huh, or perhaps this one isn't on your card? I've played this song before, but not this extended version of it. This version is a first time for me."

"You'll pay for this, Boss."

"Not unless you suck it up and clear this song. Get with the program already."

"Quit your psych out strategy."

"Hey, if you don't like it, clear the floor. Otherwise, suck it up and tough it out." _Noah, you aren't so tough when someone finds a crack in your wall, are you?_

"Let's just say I wasn't expecting this song."

"Well it serves you right for trying to bend rules your way. Take it from someone who **knows** these floors: Some rules are better off left straight and narrow than bent in your favor."

The song started to return to it's normal pacing and Noah was starting to catch his wind. _I've been too careless, focus Noah. Don't let this weakling get into your head._ Noah built his guage up and then the song kicked up again, but it stayed this was until the end where it finally slowed and stopped. the grade was "A" to "two stars" in Boss' favor. "Your pick Noah."

"Time to pay the piper, fool."

Next up was WINTER on the routines, a song Boss was all to well seasoned with. He gave a shrug"That's another flaw in your strategy, you keep picking songs that you are used to." he told Noah. "Thinking you give yourself an advantage when I already know how to work a song like this. Too bad I'm gonna have to prove you wrong again."

"We'll see how good you are on your seasons." said Noah."

"If you weren't so angry, you probably choose a song you don't really know and see how good you'd do, but I guess Hamtaro was right. You're just a faker after all..."

Before Noah could comment, the song began... with its usual kick in the pace. But while Noah stepped to it cleanly, Boss cleanly freestyled to WINTER. Noah was stunned, Boss was besting him with every step. _How the hell is he doing this?..._ he thought.

"When you're done clouding your judgement with anger and rage, maybe you'll start putting up a fight, 'Kaiba boy'. I'm starting to get enjoyably bored with you." said Boss.

The song was coming to it's closure and the two finished strong. "Man, this was interesting. I have to admit it, Boss knows how to keep a cool head." said Kit-n-Kat.

When the scores came up, Noah's star lost to the nice "V" which Boss picked up. Noah's travels into the tournament were over. The leader of the Comets, stunned and hurt, dropped to his knees. "I don't understand, I battled swiftly and bravely, each step had the force I needed to carry me through, the battle had my predictions in it, but he still won. HOW COULD i LOSE" Noah cried.

"Because like I was telling you, you battled for all the wrong reasons." answered Boss.

"It's not fair, dammit. It's not fair"

"Get up and face the music! What happened to you serves you right, so don't be confused about losing, just accept it."

"I will not."

"Then you have learned **nothing!** You lost to 'him' because you thought that your anger and rage could fuel you to victory when instead, led you to defeat. Once you lost, you decided to bundle it up and deny the fact that you lost fair and square so you pushed yourself with that same anger and rage. You thought you could come into this tournament with that same fuel to get you to the top and once again it has failed you. You even tried to bend the rules in your favor, but you made the same mistake as last time. You fueled yourself with hatred and force. Yet you still don't understand that the reason why you lost is because you were meant to lose each time you approached it this way?

"I must say Noah, you haven't learned from your past mistakes, you just kept repeating them. And as long as you continue to repeat your mistakes, you will continue to repeat your own demise. I didn't battle you with hatred, anger and rage, no. I battled with a carefree spirit, focused mind and heart. Those who battle that way achieve victory in **all** their battles, not just the few inbetween. But you still haven't gotten it yet... Perhaps after you reflect on things next tournament, and change the way you fuel yourself, you might actually get to that last round and who knows?

"The point of this is to let a loss go, because no one **and I mean no one** is perfect in **anything and everything.** If you can finally let things go, then you will understand why you lost."

"I... I have nothing to say."

"Say something along the lines of 'It's okay to lose sometimes, because that's how we improve.' Noah."

"You're right. I guess it's time I finally let go after all this useless planning."

"Good. Now on your feet and give me a hug Noah, you deserve one."

Noah rose to his feet, but didn't hug Boss. Instead, he shook paws with him and took his card. Ice and Dandy Lion walked up to him. "Listen you two, I'm sorry if I pushed you girls too hard." Noah began. "I wasn't really myself."

"Oh **really** big bro" asked Ice with sarcasm. "Don't worry about it big brother, we forgive you."

"Yeah, it's just sad that we've all been beaten." said Dandy Lion.

"That just means you have to rethink our take on the floor."

"Come on, The other are waiting for us, let's go."

The Comets left the place and Noah was applauded for his growth in **defeat.**

_I'm glad that's over now. Well, I got semis to battle in, so I better take a break._ With that, Boss went to get some apple juice.

I decided to use a new grading scale, a versus grading scale. Perhaps I'll do that from here on out. Not that there's much of this story left anyways... Read and review y'all.


	21. battles to the finals pt 1

My peeps are the ones who wanted me to make a sequal to this story. My peeps are my fans and allies and individuals that show me love and respect. I write this for them and to improve my skills in the syntax world. So peeps, don't take it the wrong way in me calling you my peeps, it's m way of showing respect for ya. To those of y'all who aren't (and choose not to be) my peeps, das kool by me. Just show me love in this story like I show love to the peeps. Well no that that's cleared up, I hope everyone has enjoyed this ride. Because it's almost over... and well, I can tell you the end of this will certainly **not** be a predictable one. And now that those words were said... back to the show.

Boss couldn't believe it... not the fact that he had won against Noah, no. He couldn't believe that this tournament was almost over. _I never actually thought I'd make it this far, but I guess all of my hard work really did pay off._ He continued to sip his sunflower cola. _Well after I get through this next match, the finals will be a sweeper-tough ride. With the winner going up against Kit-n-Kat._

Boss' thoughts were put on hold from the company that came to him. "I'm glad things went well for you, Boss." said Dexter.

"Yup, all the Comet Crew members are out of the tournament." said Boss. "Ice lost her match, I avenged Maxwell to take out Yami, and Noah just got his hat handed to him by me. In addition to that, Stan and Sparkle won against Blossom and Trav."

"Well, I guess it's between us then..." said Pashmina.

"How it should be." Dexter adds his pennies.

"Yeah, but I never thought my hard work would take me this far." said Boss. "Did any of you guys have doubts on your own skill?"

"I did at first, but that all changed." Pashmina answered, "However, I did have help though."

"I wonder how Hamina did in this tournament." said Dexter.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

As if on cue, here she came. "Hey you guys."

"Hamina, we were just talking about you." said Boss. "So how'd it go?"

Hamina shook her head. "It was a draw. Oh well, at least I didn't lose."

"That has to suck." said Dexter.

"Yeah it does... Especially since the winner of the other branch just got a bye into the finals, but I'm happy with myself. Very first tournament and I hit the quarter finals, that's an accomplishment for an unknown like myself."

"That's true." said Boss.

"Boss, is that you? Of course it is, I can spot your helmet and spade from a distance."

"Heke?"

A seeming unknown voice calls out to the gang, which soon revealed its owner. When the hams saw who it was, instantly the hugs came around. There she was; green eyes, matching ribbons around each ear and a nice lemon yellow coat. "It's been a while, Miss Miri." said Boss.

"Took the words right from my mouth." Miri said.

"Eheheh, oopsie."

"I didn't mean literally... Dexter, Pashmina, boy you two look cute."

"Nice to see you too, Miri." said Pashmina.

"Where's everyone else?"

"In the tournament. Jam's here too."

"Jam too? Man, I haven't seen him in like, ages."

"We can say the same about you." said Dexter.

Meanwhile, Stan and Sparkle were sitting at a table eating seeds. "You know something, I've definitely seen a dramatic change in you." said Stan.

"How so?" asked Sparkle.

"You aren't as mean towards the other hams like you normally were. I guess it just goes to show you that you're one of those types of nuts."

"And just what the hell do you mean by that?"

"You kinda remind me of a female version of Boss."

"Boss? Tch, no way."

"Look Sparky, what I mean is that you're one of those nuts that have a tough shell, but on the inside lies a soft, warm, sensitive nut."

"Well, you're right, I've actually been a bit less grouchy since this tournament/date with you. But I'm not the only one who's changed, you also flipped your lid as well."

"Like what?"

"You aren't as flirty as normal... Maybe it's because you're used to going out on dates with girls."

"Well yeah, that's it."

"I think it's really because you don't wanna be lectured by your other half. Not to mention that I'm probably the only girl you've actually been on a date with in your existence."

"You know..."

"Look at the 'Lovebirds' over there, enjoying your time together?" Stan and Sparkle turned to see Sandy and Maxwell.

"What is this, a 'Spy on Stan' day?" asked Stan, feeling a bit violated.

"I'm still waiting for you to mess up." answered Sandy.

Stan had his head held low. "Man sis, that's cold. I don't cut into your dates like this."

"Well I'm not a flirt like you are."

"Bah, enough of this. Sparkle, let's go to our next match... I didn't come here to be grilled by my **younger twin sister** today."

"About that," Maxwell began, "you do know you're up against Dexter and Pashmina, right?"

"Aw, and I wanted to go toe up to Jam and Roll. Oh well." said Sparkle.

"Who cares who we face, they're losing anyway." said Stan as he took his date's paw. "C'mon, or we're gonna get DQed."

Pashmina and Dexter were standing at the machines waiting for their opponents to arrive. "Man, they still aren't here yet." said Pashmina.

"This isn't like Stan to be late, must be Sparkle's fault." said Dexter.

Rage walked up to them. "Well, since your opponents haven't made it yet-"

"We'll wait, even if it takes all night." Dexter cut Rage off.

"But Dexter, we have to get home." said Pashmina.

"We're waiting... **and that's final!**"

"Sheesh, you don't have to yell."

"Sorry, it's just that before this started, Stan was too busy braggin about how he and Sparkle were gonna clinch the tournament. I'm gonna make sure that his Ego Trip ends here."

"**Dexter...**"

"What, I **am** doing this fair and square, you know."

Stan and Sparkle finally got to their match. "What took you so long?" asked Pashmina.

"Had to take a crap." answered Stan.

"Really?"

"No, I just mated with Sparkle. I went to take a crap, jeez."

"If you two are done, let's get this match underway already." Rage reminded them. "The crowd is starting to get restless..."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry we kept you waiting, 'Mas'r'. _You want cheese with that whine?_ Did you want me to take a dump all over the floor?"

Sparkle baps Stan on the forehead, "Hey, that's not what we needed to hear." she told him.

"Ow."

"Pick a song already, Pashmina."

So with that said and done, Pashmina opened up the round with Clap Your Hands. "Is there a reason for this song, Pashmina?" asked Stan.

"Just like the music." Pashmina answered.

"Take her down, Sparkle, let's wrap this one up quick."

So the song began. The beat was pretty forward and everyone was getting the hang of it early on. There were a few confusing steps, but nothing these four couldn't handle. "You know, I see why she likes this song so much, it's kind of catchy." said Dexter.

"Yeah, it is." agreed Stan.

"Say, when all of this is over, do you wanna grab the Sunflower Combo meal at Petals?"

"Why not..."

"I'm thinking about going to Petals for a bite after this, wanna come?" Pashmina asked Sparkle.

"Loser treats." answered Sparkle.

"Deal."

At the end of the song, the girls shook paws. Everyone got an A on that one and the guys noticed the exchange of paw between their partners. "Did we miss anything ladies?" asked Dexter.

"Nothing much, we just bet that loser treats the winner to grub at Petals." answered Pashmina.

"Sounds cool to me. Losing team treats the winning team to Petals."

So all four shook to the bet, then Sparkle chose Moga Moga for the next song. Sparkle felt confident with this song, but not as confident as her date, who was freestyling to the beat. Dexter ignored Stan's fancy footwork and focused to the steps... Biggest mistake he made, for Stan's style ate his guage away. "I can't believe this, I've been drained." said Dexter.

"Step off the stage, please." said Stan who kept on groovin'.

_Oh well, I guess I'm solo for this performance._ thought Pashmina.

Halfway through the song, Pashmina evened the odds and drained Sparkle's meter, she wasn't too pleased. "Get her Stan, it's just you and Pashmina now." she half cheered half ordered.

"Not happenning today, baby." said Pashmina. "Now move, you sit out now... buh-bye."

Stan and Pashmina cleared the stage, but Pashmina's B had more points to it than Stan's B. Dexter and Sparkle took their places on the stage. "Okay Dexter, you pick this time." said Pashmina.

Dexter was in a pickle. _Should I pick our song... no. Stan would expect that. A better strategy is in order._ he pondered. Testing his luck, Dexter hit random. "Well, let's see what fate has decided."

As the song started up, Sparkle was once again mispleased. "Of all the songs, it had to be this one." she said.

"Stop crying, it was chosen at random." said Dexter.

"Do you even know what this song is about?"

"No, please fill me in."

"I'll do it for you." said Stan.

The third song, Secret Rendezvous, began. To anyone who plays this song on heavy for DDR EXtreme (and to those who don't), this 98 bpm music is a pain... especially since the steps all scrunched up on normal speed. Since the hams didn't adjust their speed, all four of them had problems. "Stupid slow song and the crappy lesbians it's about." grumbled Sparkle.

"You have a problem with lesbians?" questioned Pashmina.

"Lesbians need men in their lives, I'll say it like that anyway."

"Crap, I'm out!" Stan shouted. "If I had this on x2 speed, I'd be fine."

"This is challenging, I never moved to a song this slow.." said Dexter.

Pashmina was next to go. "Dexter, this is all your fault." she said as she stepped off the stage.

Two thirds of the song have gone through and Sparkle's guage was looking really low, but then again, so was Dexter's. "Oh how I hate this song." said Sparkle.

"It's not so bad." said Dexter.

"Not so bad? Baka, this is terrible."

"You're out."

"Huh?" Sparkle's temper cause her guage to drain. "You'll pay for this, Poindexter."

"Please exit stage right." Dexter joked.

Dexter managed to get through the stage... barely. But beside the fact that he basically slid by, he was proud of the D he had. "I'm glad that's over." he told himself. "Pashmina, remind me **never** to do that again."

"Don't worry, I won't let you sting my pride with a song like this again." said Pashimina.

"Your pride is stung... mine is insulted." said Sparkle.

"You're just mad because the meal is on you. But don't worry, I won't hurt your wallet... I'm considerate when it comes to what I eat."

"Well Stan, we lost."

"It's okay, Sparkle." said Stan. "Let's go have a good meal."

"Yeah."

So the four hams walked off the Petals to get some grub.


	22. battles to the finals pt 2

It was now time for Boss and Miri to go head to head, with the winner going into the finals. _Well, this is it. My very first run in these tournaments and I'm almost there._ thought Boss. _I can't believe my skills have gotten me this far. Well, it's time to shine my man... However, it's been a while since I've been on the floor with Miri, so I better not let my guard down._

Miri also had similar though going through her mind as well. _Well Boss, I sure hope you've gotten better since last time. I still remember how disturbed you were after you were robbed of having Bijou the last time I was around. It took you at the very end of the song. But with that in mind, I hope you give an interesting run and a fun time while we're together..._

"Since we're going to be going a Nonstop run, I sure hope this match of ours is close." said Boss.

"Same here, Boss. Same here." Miri agreed.

"I'm not giving anything less than 'greatest', Miri, so that's what I expect to get from you."

"Don't worry about getting favored treatment. Even though I like you and we're friends, it doesn't mean that I'm gonna give you any mercy. And I know you'll do the same thing, so let's just have our matchup."

Since this is the semifinals, the beat has already been set and the choices already at random. As the first song started, which was Vook Vook, Boss and Miri shake paws, then turned to the screen. The quick beat caught Miri off guard, but Boss knew of this song and stepped without trouble. _Whoa, this **isn't** what I expected from a song like this._ Miri thought.

_Miri's taken by stupor from this song, I better keep my bar high so I can start whittling hers down._ thought Boss.

Jam had also just found his way into the crowd to watch the battle. _Interesting..._ he thought.

Halfway through the song, Boss' bar was maxed out and Miri's bar was starting to feel Boss' steps. Despite the whittling, Miri stepped onward. "I dun like this song." she stated.

"Come on girl, tough it out." said Boss.

_Look at Boss, he's raping the bar..._ Jam thought.

"Will this song ever end..." Miri said to herself.

Miri got out of there barely and Boss was still "raping the bar" and whittling Miri's in the process. The next song was Dr. M ("M" referring to of course, Mozart). _Okay, this has some rapid steps to it._ thought Miri.

_You're doing great, Boss. Keep it going._ Boss mentally encouraged himself.

Kit-n-Kat looked at these two competitors. "Man, that girl's not doing so well, she just might lose." he said.

"You shouldn't doubt an underdog." Kit-n-Kat turned to see Jam.

"Shouldn't you be in the doubles competition?"

"Yes, I am in the doubles, but I have to give my spiritual presence to my classmates you know." Jam answered.

"Classmates?" _How did he know about "The One" having students? Oh yeah, this guy is one of "The One's" pupils._ "So tell me about your sensei... Is he really that great?"

"He's very tolerant."

Meanwhile, Miri got to the point where Boss was no longer eating up her bar, now she was starting to regain some leverage. _Okay Boss, no more being a nice girl._ thought Miri. _The next song is where I tear a hole in you._

The third song slowed its pace down, it wasn't speedy at all. Thus, the perfect way to enjoy a breather for Love is a Danger Zone. As the song began, Boss and Miri were evenly matched. "It seems like he's a very patient person." said Kit-n-Kat. "Perhaps I may meet him someday."

"That would be cool to see." said Jam, "Kit-n-Kat versus 'The One' on the floor. I'd pay to see that matchup."

_Man, she hasn't missed a beat here._ thought Boss.

_Bring it on, Boss._ thought Miri.

When the chorus came up, Miri's steps started eating away at Boss' bar. He knew this was happening because everytime he hit a perfect step, his guage wouldn't move. _Keep steady til the end..._ Boss encouraged himself mentally. _You may not be getting and footing, but you aren't losig any either._

_Man, he knows how to keep his bar protected..._ thought Miri. _I can't even whittle it down. It's not even moving... If he hits some style, it might break my offensive on his meter._

Man toughed it out to the end of the song and the final stretch started playing. The last dance was Osikospost, and the full version of the song at that. When the song started playing, the battlers started moving. All to soon the blitz on the step patterns blazed at their stamina. Just by looking at the way they stepped, you could tell that the level of fatigue was even on both of them. "Well, you can't say this isn't one for the books." said Miri.

"You can say again." said Boss.

"Well, you can't say this isn't one for the books."

Jam had finished his chat with Kit-n-Kat and thw two decided to watch the remainder of Boss and Miri's battle. However, Jam was in the crowd as he told Kit-n-Kat he would be rejoining his partner Roll. _Well, at least this is what I didn't miss in the singles competition._ he thought.

"Man, I'm beat." said Boss.

"That makes two of us." said Miri. "But as the saying goes, 'There's no rest for the weary.' Boss."

A third of the song later, the bars are low and fatigue meets the players, the last chorus comes in. Boss, feeling confident, attempts to lay it all down since he had raped Miri's bar so that they were even. _Go for broke, Boss, this match is yours._ The steps came in normally, then a quick blitz, more steps followed normally, then another blitz. Boss hit the third set of normal steps properly, but when it came to the blitz...

...he got some bad footing and fell off the floor. What bad timing, the steps gave him no mercy as his guage was empty by the time he stood back up to face the screen. _Shim-ma-taaaaaaaaaa!_ he yelled in his mind. _I can't believe I fell..._

Jam shook his head, _That **has** to suck big time._ he thought. _He's definitely gonna be mad for a long time._

Boss, though really mad, stepped of the floor. Though he was mad that his defeat was so messed up, he cheered Miri on until she cleared the song. Miri finished up with a "B" grade. "Well Miri, you won. Good job." said Boss.

"Hey thanks, that--Wait, are you crying?"

Miri went to consult Boss. "Yeah, I'm crying. All the hard work I put into this tournament, only to lose because I fell."

"Boss..."

"And to think, this is the first one of these I've been in, this sucks big time." Boss wiped his face and rose to his feet. "However, in the process, I beat two of the strongest members of the Comet Crew and I made it to the semis, it's not too bad."

"That's true," Kit-n-Kat stepped in. "And since the other branch of the tournament got a bye, that means you did very well, Boss. For your very first tournament, you finished third place."

"That means I get a medal, right?" asked Boss.

"Yup, at the awards ceremony that takes place at the end of the Ball."

"Ah, my successes, it brings tears of joys that wash away my tears of sorrow."

_That's Boss for you, a big, gruff, teddy bear-type ham._ thought Miri.

Boss extended his paw to Miri. "Well, at least I lost to one of my friends, so it really isn't so bad."

Miri shook Boss' paw. "Yeah, good fight, Boss."

"Good luck in the finals, Miri. I'll be routing for you, so don't let me down."

"It's a deal."

ah, finally finished after so long, send some reviews, y'all.


	23. battles to the finals: pt nightmare

It was now time for Hamtaro and Bijou to face Jam and Roll. The girls were already stretching near their machine waiting for the guys to show up. "Well, good luck to you, Bijou." said Roll.

"Oui, same to vous." said Bijou.

The guys were walking towards the machine. "I'm gonna give exactly what I expect from you; everything in the arsenal and then some." said Jam.

"Don't worry about that, you'll get it." said Hamtaro. "But I have to warn you, there's no song you can possibly put on me that I won't perservere over."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, yes it is so."

Jam and Hamtaro joined their partners and hit the floor. "Okay everyone, it's ironic how the final match of the day will be the final match of the semifinals." said the MC. "Good luck to all four of you."

The quartet shook hands. "Okay you hams, let's be fair here and use new songs." said Jam.

"I'm game," said Bijou. "But I dare you to do your worst, Jam."

"Really?"

"Hamtaro and I have been on the fastest and trickiest songs throughout this tournament. Nothing has broken our endurance, and noe one shall."

"Is that so? Allow me to test your endurance..."

"Be my guest."

"Okay, clear the floor you guys."

Hamtaro, Bijou and Roll stepped off the floors, then Jam entered a specific step patter on all four parts. This of course was monitored by the world champs. _I wonder what he's doing..._ thought Emi.

"Hey Rage, do you know what he's doing?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"No Idea." answered Rage

_Interesting, the world champs have no clue eh, interesting._ thought Jam and then stepped off the floors. "Well everyone, good luck." said Jam.

"Let's do it." said Roll.

"Hey Jam, just what exactly did you do?" asked Hamtaro."

"Simple, I've set the difficulty to Nightmare Mode." Jam answered.

"Nightmare Mode?" asked the other hams.

Jam kept his ears open. "I never heard of nightmare mode, have you?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"Nope, this one's new to me." answered Emi.

"I didn't even know there was a Nightmare difficulty." said Rage.

_Huh, this is a first._ "One last thing you guys: Highest grade of all four of us picks next song." said Jam.

"Cool." said Hamtaro.

"First turn honors are Bijou's."

Bijou scrolled through the library of songs and came across one, "Hmm, this one sounds nice." she said. "So it's called Bee huh? this will do nicely."

"Um, are you sure you wanna start us off with this song, Bijou?" asked Hamtaro with a bit of doubt. "I don't think this would be a good song to open up on."

"Hamtaroo, it can't be any worse than the full version of Mr. Larpus and we got B-grades on that."

The hams continued to talk. "That sounds like an interesting song." said Emi.

"I'm picturing a remade version of the song Flight of the Bumblebee." said Rage.

"It probably is," said Kit-n-Kat, "but it should prove formidable on this Nightmare Mode."

"I agree, let's see if this Nightmare Mode lives up to it's name." said Emi.

"We'll be okay, just trust me." said Bijou.

"Okay, if you say so..." said Hamtaro.

So Bee was the first song. _This can't all that bad..._ thought Bijou.

"I've got a bad feeling about this song." said Hamtaro.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one."

As the music began to play, it did sound like the Bumblebee song played on the violin, but when the notes came up... "Holy crap, look how close those notes are..." said Roll.

"I knew this song was a bad idea." said Hamtaro.

"It'll get better." said Bijou.

And then, then the notes shot up the screen as the routine began. "Aw man, these notes are flying to the screen's top." said Hamtaro.

"At least they aren't all bunched up." said Jam.

"Which one would be worse?"

"Thanks a lot for picking a hard song off the bat, Bijou." said Roll.

"Things will get better, just watch..." said Bijou, slightly panicked.

Even the world champs are having some problems. "Man, my eyes hurt." said Kit-n-Kat.

"I can't believe this is Nightmare Mode, it really lives up to its name." said Emi.

"Hey Rage, what do you think?"

No answer.

"Rage? Rage? Yoo hoo, earth to Rage..."

"Is he okay?" Kit-n-Kat turned to see Rage. "Whoa, I'm glad I don't look like this."

Emi turned to see Rage, his jaw was hanging and his eyes were big. You could look at him and couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. "Rage, you need a jaw loosener?"

"Kit, that's not funny."

_Jeez, I don't know how someone can move to a beat like this._ was the only thought going through Rage's mind at that moment.

"Bijou, let's **not** do this song again." said Hamtaro.

"Believe me, I'll pass it up from now on." said Bijou.

"Is it getting better yet?" asked a panicked Roll.

"No, but I'm sure it will..." answered Bijou.

Meanwhile, Emi and Kit-n-Kat were able to regain Rage's senses. "Dude, you okay?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"Y-yeah, I'm good now, I was just thinking... yeah, just thinking, that's all." Rage answered with a sweatdrop on the back of his forehead.

"Thinking about what, how you just froze in time there!" yelled Emi.

"No, I was thinking about this Nightmare level."

"I'm sure you'll fill us in."

"Think about it for a minute, that red ham over there knew about the one mode that we never even seen executed until today. That means a lot of something."

"He's 'The One'." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Either that, or he found out about this mode over the internet." said Emi.

"What the hell is the internet?" asked Rage.

"How the hell should I know, do I look human to you?"

The song never got better and when it ended however, everyone passed... Too bad everyone had a "D" grade. Jam even had to hit the inhaler after that one. "Well... this has... made me stronger..." said Jam.

"Why do you... say that?" asked Hamtaro.

"Because I'm not dead."

"I'm too tired to laugh." said Bijou.

"As you should... this is... all your fault." said Roll.

"Save it, Roll... jusst pick the next song." said Jam.

After everyone caught their breath, Roll chose the song Essa Maneira for the second routine. "You know, I've had my instincts about that red hamster." said Kit-n-Kat. "He was just acting too coy."

"Really now?" asked Rage.

"Well I'll sure give him a piece of my mind after he's done."

"The BPM on this song is moderate, so it shouldn't be so difficult." said Roll.

"You forgot what difficulty you're on Roll, BPM has little meaning on a high level of difficulty." said Jam.

"I forgot, thanks for that insight, Jam."

"Tako."

This song started out with quick gallops and soon went into freezes. _This isn't so bad._ thought Hamtaro.

"See, this is a good song for a breather." said Roll.

"Well zhen what is zhat?" asked Bijou?"

Soon as the "breather" was over, it was time for the tricky stuff. The world champs were once again put into awe by the prowess of Nightmare Mode. _Man, is **any** song safe?_ thought Rage.

"Is anything safe on this level?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"Hey, that was my line." said Rage.

"Then why didn't you say it before I did?"

"Nightmare Mode is starting to scare me." said Emi.

This song went by quickly and Jam pulled off an "A" to the other three "B"s. "Looks like third turn honors are mine." said Jam.

"So, what's next on the menu, Jam?" asked Roll.

"Tears."

Then hams took their stage and the music began. "Hamtaro, Bijou, make this one count, or you can kiss the finals goodbye." Jam warned. This first beat was a freeze... then it got crazy. It only started, but trouble was already had for the hams. _I can see why this is called Tears now._ thought Roll.

"Kuso!" Bijou yelled, he guage had drained.

"I should've picked another song, not like it mattered though..." thought Jam.

"I wish I can hold out." said Hamtaro.

"You know, this song is hard on Nightmare." said Rage.

"Yeah," agreed Emi, "and I like Tears too..."

Meanwhile, Roll had her guage drained and it was just the boys. "I'm actually doing it, things are going great for me now." said Hamtaro.

"We're facing our demon today." said Jam.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired."

"Same here."

On the guys danced to this hectic version of a great song, no sign of quit in the other. The world champs even watched on in awe as Hamtaro and Jam finished the stage. "Well, at least they made it." said Emi.

"Yup." added Kit-n-Kat.

"It's over." said Hamtaro.

"Yup, and thank the gods for that." added Jam.

Despite the fact thaaat they finished the song, they both failed the level. The girls were bummed out about it, but at least Hamtaro was happy with his best. Even Jam was contented with the performance he gave, "That, was my first try on this difficulty... Never again would I do this unless I improve my speed." he said.

"Hold on a minute, since we're out of this tournament, what does that mean for the winners of the other side?" asked Roll.

"She's got a point Jam, does zhe other team automatically win?" asked Bijou.

"Sadly, yes." Jam answered. "But I'm happy for them and I'm happy for the performance I gave."

"Well I'm glad you're okay with this, but there are some things that need to be cleared up."

The four hams turned to see Kit-n-Kat. "Tell me something, how did you know about this Nightmare Mode when none of us ever heard of it?"

Jam looked at Rage and Emi, then turned back to Kit-n-Kat. "Eh, no matter." he answered, the walked away.

"Enough of your games, tell us the truth here. Are you 'The One' or not?" No response came from Jam, he just continued to walk away. "Don't act like you didn't hear me, buster. Answer my question!"

"You know, for a little guy, you sure have a big mouth."

"**Quit beating around the bush and answer the question!**"

"Kit, let it go." said Emi.

"I refuse. Throughout this whole ball this guy... um, Jam right?"

"Yup."

"Thanks. Jam here has been acting really sly and a bit too coy. Enough of the head games and spill it already! Are you, or are you not 'The One'!"

Out of nowhere, came a powerful hissing. "Where's that sound coming from?" asked Emi.

"It's coming from Jam's back." answered Bijou.

"From his back?"

"That's right. The sun's light has a glimmer I bet."

"Okay, you lost me."

Jam, without turning around, removed his pack, exposing the sun on his back which was glowing. "What's up with his back?" asked Rage.

"The sunspot on his back is glowing." answered Hamtaro. "Something's clouded here."

"Not something, someone." Jam corrected.

"Okay, what's up already, just answer Kit-n-Kaat's question so he can finally get off your back." ordered Rage.

"You know what's sad?" Jam began. "It's sad that you even have to ask a question like that to me. But I knew it all along, you world champs, like the rest of the hams here witnessed for the very first time Nightmare Mode. You would even have the guts to ask me about a difficulty that you didn't even know about? I thought by this very match-up, you already knew.

"I see now that you actually had to ask about knowing about the hardest level of difficulty... It's sad in a way, because I thought you guys knew about this mode, but you never heard of it until today."

"Wait, how did you..." Emi trailed off.

"I am a seer, a messenger, one that has sharp senses to identify these things. There is nothing you can hide from me, for I know and see all."

"That's a bunch of bull-"

"You still haven't gotten it, so I better explain it to you... seeing as you've just admitted that you're slow. I heard you three talk about Nightmare Mode while Bijou was selecting the first song; I noticed How Rage just conked out and tried to cover it up by saying that he was thinking; I knew that despite your skill as world champs, that you knew not of this level. But you still had to ask?" Jam gave a smirk. "My mission here is now complete."

"Wait a minute Jam, just what was your mision?" asked Hamtaro.

"My mission is as it always is, to show the way. But the real question is why?" Jam turned around to face them. "Why did I wait until the semis to unveil this lesson?"

"I'm sure you'll tell us." said Kit-n-Kat.

"You see, Chronos had already written your fate in the stars, Roll and I would've been taking that world title from Rage and Emi, but I chose to unveil this hard path early and save your titles. Why? titles have no meaning to me. Even if I was in the singles competition, which was what I wanted to go in, I alone would be the new world singles champ. and from what you three have seen today, I know that none of you world champs would've been able to successfully defend on the 'Nightmare level' at all. Isn't that right, Rage?"

Rage held his head down. "Ironically enough, Emi and I would have lost." he answered.

"Now you understand what I have told and shown to you, for 'Even when defeated, one can claim victory over his adversaries.' Hamtaro."

"In a confusing was, I understand."

"Good. Tomorrow, after the ball has come to a close, you'll be giving out awards to the participants right? I'll be back then, perhaps to claim an awards for myself..."

With that, Jam started walking away from the arcade. "Man, for a young hamster, he has a sage's wisdom." said Emi.

"You don't even knoe a quarter of it." said Hamtaro.

Suddenly, Jam stopped thirty-five feet away. "Kit-n-Kat, I almost forgot about you." he said.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Kit-n-Kat asked with a bit of hesitation.

Jam chuckled. "You're fiesty, I admire that... even if you are a girl."

Another shocker hit the doubles champs. "Wait a minute, you got him all wrong." said Rage. "Kit's a guy."

"Wrong, Kit-n-Kat is a girl."

"How does a girl whip out a jimmy and take a leak while standing up?"

"Stop it Rage, he's right." Kit-n-Kat admitted. "He really can see all..."

Kit-n-Kat removed the cloak and exposed the young male hamster underneath. "See, Rage was right, Kit-n-Kat's a boy after all." said Emi, then she gave a raspberry."

"Yes, but I was born a girl." The young hamster re-cloaked. "You see, I was born a female hermaphrodite, but after having an operation, I had all my females parts removed and lived on as a bull. Only myself and my parents knew a bout that, until today..."

"Well, you're still loved and respected, regardless of your gender, Kit." reassured Emi.

Jam put his pack on and continued walking out the arcade. "Yallah, Roll."

Roll followed Jam and soon after, everyone who had relevance to the ball left the arcade. For tomorrow, the final battles begin.


	24. a tough call to make

The hams left the fun park and headed home. "So, how did everyone do?" asked Boss.

"Well, Pashmina and I move on to the final round." said Dexter.

"Actually, you got the finals won." said Hamtaro.

"Why do you say that?"

"Bijou and I tied with Jam and Roll, which makes a bye for the other half of the finals. since you two were the other half, you guys win the doubles tournament."

"Cool, we won the doubles." said Pashmina.

"Don't get your hopes up." said Jam. "Rage and Emi won't just let you two get away with a victory on a count of a bye. I smell a rat and I don't mean us."

"How did you do Boss man?" asked Howdy.

"Since there was a bye, my match goes straight to the finals, but I lost." answered Boss.

"Tough break."

"Yes and no. Because of the bye, I finish the singles tournament in third place. I guess Miri will face the other guy tomorrow and I'm gonna cheer her on."

"Miri is in the tournament too?" asked Panda.

"Yup, I lost to her, but I'm not mad. I actually feel content, third place on the first try... it takes skill to do that."

"Say Boss, you mind if I--Wait, of course you don't. I'm always welcome to the clubhouse." said Jam.

"Of course." said Boss.

"So Jam, what are you and Roll gonna do after the awards ceremony of the ball?" asked Sandy.

"The same thing we always do, continue traveling the world." Jam answered.

"So I guess you'll want the hat back then..." Cappy trailed off.

"No way, those are gifts to you guys."

"Well, we all better be going our seperate ways, catch you guys later." said Stan.

"Later." everyone said and seperated.

Jam, Boss and Roll watched them go. "Not tell me again why Tango is leaving?" asked Boss.

"She wanted to escort Penelope home." Roll answered. "She'll be okay, I don't have to worry about her anymore. She's become self-reliant now."

Later that eveining, the world champs were in a caucus. "So lemme get this straight," Kit-n-Kat began, "there was a bye in the semifinals in the doubles competition? One side had a team go through while the other side had a draw? Hmm, that **is** a major pickle."

"Not to mention it being a first time this has happened." added Emi.

"Well, one thing is for sure, there was a bye in the quarterfinals and a branch actually made it there, so third place will easily be determined." said Rage. "However, it's the doubles competition that concerns me."

"What I don't understand is that red hamster. How... what... why did he execute a mode that we never heard of?"

"I don't know Emi, but let's forget about him and worry about the doubles remaining team, Dexter and Pashmina."

"Have you figured out how you're gonna deal with it?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"I don't know. This has never happened before..." ansered Emi.

"I guess since their competition is out, we might as well hand them the trophy." said Rage. "There's no other option."

"True..." said Kit-n-Kat. "However..."

"However what?" Emi and Rage asked.

"The choice of them getting the first place trophy is on you two. Do you want to simply let them have it, or do you want to let them **earn it**?"

Emi and Rage were in shock. Kit-n-Kat headed for the door and off to her room. "You two sleep on it, 'cause it's basically your call. I can't decide for you. Catch you tomorrow."

"Sleep well, Kit." said Emi.

"What do you think we should do?" Rage asked his partner.

"I have no clue, but I respect whatever decision you make on this ordeal."

"...That's a big help, Emi."

"Come on, let's get some rest. Besides, I wanna snuggle..."

"Fine, let's snuggle and sleep on it."

Elsewhere, Dexter was still awake, he couldn't sleep. He was thinking bout tomorow. _I can't believe Pashmina and I have no one left to face._ he thought. _I guess we're the winners then. Oh well... tomorrow is the day Pashmina and I take what's coming to us. And as a show of good faith, I'll coax Pashmina into dancing our song too._ Dexter had a grin on his face. _Well, first thing's first, must get to sleep._


	25. a prelude to the final storm

Well my peeps, I've really been a busy kat. With a new job and all that has happened to me (new jobs, moving preperations, family deaths, etc.) making the next chapter seemed long and forgotten. But res assured that I'll put this chapter up ASAP. Though the next chapter is still in progress (as I'm down to the last bit of chapters to this tale), my varios forms of resaerch on the floors have broadened. So since the next chapter is still under works, I'll leave you with this simple bit of reading to do you over until the last few battles and the crowning of the winners. Think of this as a simple insight on what's to come (yes this is part of the story). Big Oopsie on the delay my peeps, but worry not, the show will go on. Well, enjoy for now.

Despite his attempts at trying to sleep, Dexter remained restless. It was so bad that it drove him to the near brink of frustration. "I can't stay here at this moment of time, I have to leave." With that said, Dexter left his cage and out of the store. "I wonder what will happen tomorrow"  
As he stepped out the door and walked down the street, he was then joined by his partner. The two just simply held paws and walked in the gibbous moonlit sky. "Can't sleep either, Pashmina?" Dexter asked.  
"I'm scared Dexter." Pashmina answered.  
"Why are you scared for, we already won"  
I don't know, I just am scared. Maybe it's because of how we won. What usually happens during events like this"  
"We'll just have to wait and see."

Eventually the two made their way to the park. "So why are you still up?" asked Pashmina.  
"Restless, got energy I need to burn." Dexter answered.  
"About time you showed up"  
Dexter and Pashmina turned to see Jam sitting on a tree branch. "Enjoying the nightlight stroll I see..." the Ra's Hamster went on.  
"I'm scared about what will happened tomorrow, Jam." Pashmina explained. "What normally happens at times like these"  
Jam wanted to tell her the answer, for he knew about these things... however, "Pashy, only time will tell on this matter. If you two are that restless, walk with me back to the clubhouse and hit the floors to kill time and energy"  
"I think I'll pass on the dancing tonight"  
"I'll take up your offer, Jam." Dexter said.  
"Cool." Jam said.  
"Well, If you two don't mind, I'm gonna go back home. I'll see you tomorrow." said Pashmina.  
"Not so fast Pashy, I'll walk you home. Go ahead and get some time in, I won't be long about this escort, Dex"  
"Okay." Dexter said. "Rest well, Pashmina"  
Dexter made way to the clubhouse while Jam walked Pashmina home.

As they walked to her house, Jam and Pashmina enjoyed the nighttime breeze. Though while Pashmina was in thought, Jam was celloping a tune. "That's a nice song to whistle." said Pashmina, breaking from her pondering.  
"Tinky," said Jam, "this song is nice. However, I dun whistle much... rather I cellope instead"  
"Cellope?" pronunced "chell-lope  
"Rye. To imitate a whistle using a sound effect, it is to cellope"  
"Oh, I see. So what's the song called"  
"Life of a Butterfly"  
"Sounds cool"  
"Dance to it sometime, Pashy"  
"...Maybe"  
Jam turned to Pashmina. "Hey, don't worry about what will happen tomorrow, you and Dexter have this won. Just remember that you came really far with the tales that you've acquired. I'm proud of how you turned out, especially since you had two right feet to begin with"  
"Don't you mean two left feet"  
"No, two right feet. I can assure you that everything will be fine, so get some sleep. It wouldn't be right if you fell asleep taking your prize you know"  
"You're right, thanks a lot Jam, you're a real doll"  
"Well, I try"  
The two reach June's house safely. and before heading to her owner's room, Pashmina gave Jam a peck on the cheek good eve and off to the room she went. Once inside safely, Jam turned away with the Blade of Ra in his left hand. "Well, back to the clubhouse to talk with Dex." With a swing of his sword, Jam disappeared in a flash of fire...

...only to reappear in the clubhouse on the machine next to Dexter. "I was just about to start a new run, let's go." said Dexter.  
"Sure." said Jam. "Anytime you're ready"  
"Before we begin, I have to ask you something"  
"Mmm hmm"  
"Is there more to the floor than what we've learned"  
"Enhance your question"  
"Are the steps what they seem to portray"  
"Hee hee... At times they are and at times they aren't. But for now, we're running the clock down, so let's get down to battling"  
"Agreed, we'll discuss this afterwards."

The two allies battled for some time that night and at the end, Jam saw Dexter back to Curtis' shop safe and sound. "Jam, you're a real red rover, you know that?" asked Dexter, who was worn out.  
"Not the correct way to say that, but I understand what you mean." said Jam.  
"Thanks for telling me all the answered to my problems"  
"Some of them, you solved yourself... with a bit of remembering of course"  
"Chew datz"  
"Haaah, I'm rubbing off on you, good"  
"Well, I better get to bed, see you tomorrow, Jam."

Once Dexter was safely inside his home, Jam headed back to the clubhouse. "Rage, Emi, Tomorrow is the award's ceremony, I hope you give the awards out quickly, because not everyone is gonna wanna stand forever with a long speech." Jam said to himself then shrugged. "Perhaps the gods shine bright for Miri in her journeys... only time will tell... it always does anyhow..." 


	26. singles championship

Message to the peeps: The wait is now over, it's time to see who gets what. I hope you're ready, 'cause the researching is now over. Welcome back to the ride.

Boss and the gang were all waiting for the rest of the hams to arrive, they had agreed to leave together as a show of support to their remaining friends. "What's taking those two so long to get here... what's the big idea?"Boss was a bit irate and very impatient.

"Relax, Boss. They'll get here, so stop being so restless." said Hamtaro.

The hams soon turned to the door at the moment the sound of it cracking open was heard. "'Bout time." said Boss.

To everyone's amazment, Miri had walked into the clubhouse. "Hey everyone, it's been too long." she greeted.

"Hey Miri, how ya doing?" Stan greeted as usual.

"You haven't changed one bit."

"Sure I have. Miri, this is Sparkle, my date."

"You guys are still dating?" asked a shocked Sandy.

"Of course not, stupid." Sparkle answered. "This is a second date."

"Your date's got a mouth, Stan." Miri whispered to Stan.

"Yeah, and it's great for kissing."

"Hey you guys, sorry we're late." Dexter said as he walked in with Pashmina leaning on his left red in the face.

"What took you two so long, we were waiting... and I was getting pissed!" Boss roared at them.

"Did you two stop to do the nasty on the way here?" asked Stan.

"Stan!" Sandy yelled at her twin. "That wasn't called for."

"Actually, that's what happened." answered Dexter.

The hams at the table fell over at that response. To think, one of Stan's smart remarks is actual fact this time around. "I see it worked, it was a quickie, right?" Jam asked, after he stopped his gigging.

"OF course, Pashmina isn't all tense like she was when I came to pick her up."

"That's a nice little remedy to clear the jitters out of someone."

The hams turned to see a not-so-unfamiliar face. "Yami, what are you doing here?" asked Boss.

"Quit your sniveling, my sibling and I were off to the fun park to watch the finals. It will be nice to see 'The One' and his partner take the doubles championship." Yami answered.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Roll and I are out of the tournament." said Jam.

"**IMPOSSIBLE!** How were you beaten!"

"Eveyrone get a draw every now and then, sheesh. I'm skilled, but I'm not invincible. Now look, let's leave before we're late."

The Comet Crew along with Boss and the gang walked to the Fun Park. "It's been so long, Jam. You're looking handsome now." said Miri.

"It lovely what a bit of water can do to glossy your coat." said Jam.

"Well, you've gotten nuts. A hamster that actually like the water... it's craziness."

"Seamore likes the water, he can even swim." said Bijou.

_I know how to swim as well, the water doesn't scare me._ Jam added mentally.

"So exactly how did you end up losing?" asked Trav.

"Bijou and I tied with Jam and Roll on Nightmare Mode." Hamtaro answered.

"Nightmare Mode? Hey Noah, have you ever heard of Nightmare Mode before?"

"Nightmare mode... interesting. So it does exist..." Noah said to himself.

"The thing that was the real kicker is that Rage, Emi, nor Kit-n-Kat knew about Nightmare Mode."

"So it actually exists... I'm impressed that 'The One' knew about it." said Noah.

_You'd think that after he lost, he'd have learned to call people by their names by now... Oh well, Noah must revert a lot._ Jam thought.

"So what's the deal with Nightmare Mode anyway?" asked Ice.

"From what I've heard, it's the hardest difficulty on the floor." Noah answered. "But seeing as it was executed in the semifinals, I missed the opportunity at seeing how it's played."

"Who knows, you might see Nightmare Mode played again if you're lucky." said Bijou.

The two parties mad their way to where the battles of truth would be held. "Well, it's time everyone for the last bit of the tournament." Rage explained. "Now, before we get underway, I would like to show our remaining competitors the trophies." Rage pointed out the tophies Where Emi and Kit-n-Kat were staning acting like that one girl from Wheel of Hamhams. "Now, without Further ado, let's get down to the battling." Rage continued. "As you can see, there's only one machine here and it will be the 'Battlefield of choice for our competitors. We'll start with the singles competition, so Kit-n-Kat..."

Rage moved away and Kit-n-Kat took the mic. "Okay, first off, I would like to say that there were a lot of draws in this tournament." she began. "I personally never seen so many draw matches in such a grand tournament. One of them was of course in the Semifinals of the singles competition. The two that were in on opposing branch tied, which led to the other two in the main branch a guaranteed spot of getting third place. Now before I go on, I'll need Will and Mirisha to step Forward." The two competitiors stepped up and took their places on the machine. "Now I want you two to understand that the step count on the machine will go no higher than a perfect step. This time around, it isn't who has the highest grade at the end, but who has more perfect steps will decide who wins. The winner of you two, will have not only be the winner of the singles division, but will also have the decision to battle against me. If you decline, no changes in title will occour, you'll still be the Floormaster's Ball Champion. Now should you choose to go against me and win, you'll be the new World Champion in the singles division.

"Well, I've said enough for one day, so without further ado, let's get this started. And to be fair about it, your songs will be chosen at random, with no full version songs. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." answered Miri.

"I'm ready... to take your title." Will answered. "After I win this, get ready KK, you're going down."

"We'll see, Will. _I like this guy's enthusiasm. I hope he does win, because it'll be all that more satisfying to wipe the smirk off his grin._ Okay you two, set your modifiers now. You'll only be able to do it once and it lasts for the duration of your match." Kit-n-Kat advised.

Miri and Will set their modifiers accordingly and gave Kit-n-Kat a nod to signal they were ready. "Good fight and bring it home." Kit-n-Kat set the machine to random and hit the button... it was officially on and battling. "Bring it home, Miri." Boss cheered and the girls added some woos.

"You can do it, Will." some fangirls cheered and screamed.

_Let's see how skilled you've become since we last danced, Miri._ Jam thought.

The first song turned out to be Hypnosis and it was on hard. As the song began, it had a quick tempo to it. When the steps came to it, they were quick but easy. Once the music kicked in, the two arrows were mixed into the speed of the single steps. Both players had a hard time with getting perfects, as most of their steps were great. "Man, this is a tough one to step to." said Will.

"This is a hard one to get perfect steps with." said Miri.

"Man, my eyes hurt." said Oxnard. "That's too fast."

"Yeah." agreed Boss.

"I'm glad the guages were turned off for this one." said Howdy. "Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing a championship match."

The steps only got even more relentless. the rapid stepping on one arrow at this speed brought misses and many good steps. The double steps were the same way and mercifully the song came to an end. "Man I'm glad this song's over, my feet hurt." said Miri.

"It hurts, but it's worth it." said Will.

When the results came up, both players got D rank and not too many perfect steps. Kit-n-kat stepped up to the machine. "Man, you guys must've really got spooked by my speech." she said.

"Get all your jokes in now, you'll be crying later." said Will.

"Well, the time is infinite so whenever you two are ready."

After Will and Miri caught their breath, "Hit it." they said and that's what the singles champ did.

"I sure hope they get a better song than last time." said Sandy.

"We'll see." said Sparkle.

By the sounding of the bgm, the hams new what was coming. "Wow, they got Turkey March this time." said Hamtaro.

"Piece of cake, but what difficulty is Oni?" asked Dexter.

"Challenge in other words." answered Maxwell. "and this song on Oni has a lot of rapid steps."

Maxwell was on the button here. Rapid Step was the name of the game for this song. Both competitors hadn't gotten a great yet. "I love Mozart." said Miri.

"I prefer Bach beter." said Will.

At the second verse of the "march", the greats were starting to show up on both sides. "What's the deal with Bach anyway, Mozart was a better composer in my opinion." said Miri.

"Transfer yer yapping to yer feet." said Will.

_Oh yeah, this guy's a hellion._

Nearing the end of the song, Miri and Will seemed toe up as the final sequence of steps came underway and the song to its end. Both had gotten A ranks and some much needed perfects count. The dancing gods had given them their justice. Kit-n-Kat took her "stage" again. "This looks close people, all set over there?"

"Bring it, baby. The fire has been lit." said Will.

"Now all we need is for the mouth to be shut." shot Miri.

_I like her already._ thought Kit-n-Kat as she hit the button.

The third song was one that Jam knew all too well. "Oh yeah, yeah... I enjoy this song a lot." he said, "I can't resist gigging to this one."

"What's the name of it?" asked Bijou.

"Join the Party."

"It should give lost of perfect opportunities." said Maxwell.

"We'll see." said Hamtaro.

"Took the words from me." said Boss.

"And off Jam goes to dance to the music." said Cappy.

"He played this song a lot last night." said Boss.

"Really?" asked Pashmina.

"Yeah. He must really like this song."

Kit-n-Kat noticed Jam's dancing. _Look at that showboat..._ she thought. _Oh well. He ain't hurting anyone._

As Miri and Will battled to the music, Jam gigged along and even sung it from the first verse.

Saturday night's not the night to be lonely.

Stayin at home all alone isn't right.

All your friends are out and about already.

Shouldn't you be out with your own kind?

"I like this music." said Miri.

"I concur... too bad the steps are all crazy." said Will.

_Listen to him, he's singing the song. Attention freak._ thought Kit-n-Kat.

Do you love the disco lights?

Do you love staying out all night?

Baby, I love a disco light

you can live forever.

"I should freestyle this song." said Will.

"After you get it for the home version." said Miri.

"Touchy are we?"

"Transfer your love of the song to your feet."

Hey, you can boogie who you are

you can be a shining star...

Join the Party!

Kit-n-Kat tried to hit Jam with a fan, but the giggin ham blocked the attack. _No way, he saw it coming._ she thought.

"If you wanted me to stop Kit, you could've just asked." said Jam as he gigged on.

"Please do, you aren't in the tournament anymore."

"You know Emi, I think Kit's starting to get annoyed of that red hamster." said Rage.

"I think she likes him." said Emi.

At the end of the song, the steps were pretty much even. Then once the final scores were displayed, it was a shocker. "No way, it can't be..." said Will.

"Well, what do ya' know..." said Miri.

Miri had Will beat by two perfect steps. It was over and Will was quite upset. "I can't believe I lost by two steps, it's not fair." he said.

"Hey, stop crying. You lost, Will... I know it's not by much, but it was fair and square." said Miri.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess that's just a force of habit to say it that way."

"Not bad, Miri. You really have improved since we last met." said Jam as he walked over to congradulate the winner.

"Thanks, Jam. It wasn't easy, but I won." Miri took a deep, cleansing breath. "I've learned a lot from this. It takes more than will power to get through tournaments like this. I know that despite the win I just made, I've still got much to learn. With that said, you can have your title Kit-n-Kat. Maybe in the future, we'll battle for the title... but not today."

"Well said, Miri. Well said indeed." said Jam.


	27. anything can happen in a title match

With championship won, Miri walked with Jam away from the floor. Will was still upset of his loss, though he was all smiles. I guess that shows you that crying won't turn back the hands of time. "Hey, Will, you okay man?" asked Rage.

"I wanna cry, but it's not worth it." Will answered. "Besides, silver is more precious than gold anyway." then he left the floor.

Rage continued as Emi took to his side. "Now, will Dexter and Pashmina step forward..." Dex and Pash step up to the team champs. "normally in cases like this, there would be one of the other teams that tied in the previous branch going against you, but since this is a first, and I **do** mean it's a first, your tournament is over."

"Did you hear that Dexter, our tournament is over." Pashmina said happily."

Dexter just kept a straight face. _I don't buy it._ he thought.

"Sorry to rain in on your parade Pashmina, but I'm not done yet." Rage continued.

"Sorry, excited." said Pashmina.

"Glad to hear it, because you two will be facing me and Emi for the title."

"Say what!"

_Jam, you really are a wise ham._ Dexter thought.

"Now since there's only one machine, each of us will have the tag option. Between songs, each side can choose to hit the next song or switch to let his or her partner to take the next song. Keep in mind as you just saw, this is a 'Perfect Game' instead of the usual grading scale that you're used to."

"So, who goes first?" asked Pashmina.

"That all depends on you and your partner, Pashmina."

"Well, I guess that's all on you then."

"What about mods?" Dexter asked.

"We'll set the mods accordingly." Emi answered.

"Well before you start, I have a mod that's needs setting. It must be put in before the start of the game or it's no good."

"Well then, by all means..." said Rage.

Dexter stepped onto the floor and inputs the mod on both sides, then stepped off the floor. "If you don't mind my asking, what mod did you just put in?" questioned Rage.

"Something I learned last night." Dexter answered. "The mod of course is one I've never seen, but it was deemed, 'For experts only, this is the greatest challenge.' Rage. I thought I'd break it in against you and Emi today."

"You mean, you never used it before?" asked Pashmina.

"Nope, it's new to me." Dexter stepped a bit close to his partner. "Now... I will lend you my faith and trust if you do the same, okay?"

"You've never let me down before and I'm certain you won't now." Pashmina told him. _I don't know what Dexter put in, but I guess I'll find out soon._

"I'll lead from our team."

"And I'll take you on." said Rage. "Start the game, Emi."

"Gotcha." said Emi and she did as instructed.

Rage and Dexter stood on their sides and when the selection came up, it was spinning, rather quickly mind you. _Well Jam, let's see if your theory proves true._ Dexter starts to reflect on a chat he had with Jam last night.

Dexter and Jam were sitting at the table of the Clubhouse, taking a break from the machine. "Jam, tell me something." said Dexter.

'Shoot." said Jam.

"Are there more to the steps than what we see?"

"Evhance your question."

"You've told me about normal steps, half-beat steps, rapid steps, blitzes and the like, but what other perils do the steps give that they don't show?"

"Well Dex, there's one specific mod that-"

"Tell me, I want to know it."

"Are you sure, Dex? This mod isn't for the weak at foot?"

"Jam, Pashmina and I are the only team left in the doubles tournament. I think we--No, I know we can handle it."

"Fine, you've proven your worth and point. This on mod is the modifier of experts, even I haven't tried this mod yet, so I don't know what to expect.

"Tell me the code, Jam."

"Of course, but understand that this is only for the worthy of the floor."

Jam took to Dexter's ear, removed his visor and placed it on Dexter. Then with two taps of his left foot, the mod went right before his eyes. "Need to see it again?" Jam asked.

"Once more, please." Dexter responded.

Jam tapped his left foot twice again and the code showed before Dexter's eye. "One more time?"

"No, I got it."

"Good..." Jam reclaimed and donned his visor. "Move in the form of the code." Dexter did so. "Cool, well I'm off to catch some sleep. You might wanna get home and sleep as well."

"You're right, I don't want to be tired for tomorow."

"See ya."

"See ya."

Dexter headed for the door, but as his paw hit the handle... "One last thing," Jam remembered, "that code must be entered before the start of the game. If not, it's voided."

"Cool, thanks again and until the morrow." And Dexter left the clubhouse.

Back to the present time. "That's a bit fast for a roulette." said Rage.

"Champions pick the first song, I insist." said Dexter.

"You pick it Emi, I trust your judgement."

"Gotcha, Rage." said Emi as she chose a song.

The spinning started slowing down... slower and slower and slower, then it stopped on the song Life of a Butterfly and the game began. Off the bat, vertical guages on each side of the screen were shown and filled up and next to them it said, "life guage". "Looks like we got a guage after all." said Emi.

"Looks like." added Pashmina.

The dance began and the guys started off. Normally, this is a somewhat slow song, but it's a good one. As Dexter and Rage stepped, the counts were even. "Now none of us should miss any of these steps." said Rage.

"Agreed," said Dexter, "but it happens though."

"That's true."

_Hmm..._ Dexter thought. _Maybe I was wrong about this difficulty... I--Wait a minute, what is that?_

And then a sequence of arrows came up with some circular notes to them. Dexter missed that step, but Rage hit it. And in doing so, the notes exploded and took some of Rage's life guage. "What the, that counted as a miss. Crud." said Rage.

_I'm glad I chose to avoid that step._ Thought Dexter.

_I knew I smelled a rat, and he's still here._ thought Kit-n-Kat.

"Man, talk about bad notes, that one just blew up." said Boss.

"Looks like the code Dexter put in has 'dummy steps' so to speak." said Oxnard.

"Jam, what did Rage just step on?" asked Roll.

"He stepped on a mine?" asked the other hams.

"Yeah, it was a mine."

"Mines, what'll they think of next?" asked Boss.

_Interesting, this code put mines into play._ thought Jam. _I wonder what else this code has..._

Even the Comets were amazed. "I didn't even know there were mines, did any of you guys know about that?" asked Trav.

"Believe me, if we knew, we'd have trained for them." said Yami.

"It seems that Dexter got a bit of help from some 'one' to pull this off." said Noah.

"I believe it." said Ice.

When the song came to a close, Rage ended up losing the first round due to the mines. "Well Emi, that's definitely new, isn't it?" asked Rage as he stepped off the floor.

"Yeah, I didn't know about exploding steps before now." said Emi as she took to the floor.

"You're the one behind this!" shouted Kit-n-Kat.

The hams turned to see Kit-n-Kat yelling at Jam. "Hey, calm down. Take a deep breath and-"

"Shut up!" Kit-n-Kat cut Jam off. "You knew about this all along. Now out with it already. What are those... things and why are they in there?"

"It's a part of the code." Jam answered.

"I should have your friends disqualified for your little stunt."

"I didn't do anything, now chill out already."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute now Kit." Rage said as the four battlers approached Kit-n-Kat and Jam. "Now what's going on here?"

"It's his fault, he set this up on you guys to give his friends an advantage over you. Dexter and Pashmina should be disqualified for this form of game fixing."

"I didn't fix anything." said Jam. "Don't get mad at me bacause your boy stepped on a mine in the stage."

"Okay, back for a minute," said Emi, "I think it's time you started explaining yourself...um... you're name again?"

"Jam."

"Thanks. Anyway Jam, Kit has a point on this one... We should disqualify your friends on this matter."

"Disqualified? That's not fair." said Pashmina.

"It may seem that way, but there's a lot of proof of this championship being compromised here." said Rage.

Jam simply shrugged. "But Rage, my partner put the code in, not Jam."

"Regardless of who put the code in, this match shows conclusive proof of being compromised on a count of foul play."

Dexter started laughing. "Hey Jam, do you smell something funny around here?" he asked his friend.

"Actually I do." Jam answered and dug into his pack. "Yeah, this chicken is no good, lemme go throw it away."

"Dude, that's gross. He eats other animals." said a disgusted Kit-n-Kat.

"That's not what I meant." Dexter began to clarify. "What I smell is cowardice. Momma always said that 'Cowards never smells clean.' and she was right."

"And just what are you trying to say?" Rage questioned Dexter to his face.

"It's not what I'm trying to say, it's what I **am saying**, and what is being said is that you're trying to take the coward's way out of losing your and your partners titles to me and Pashmina."

"Um, Dexter, not a wise thing to say to the champs." said Pashmina.

"Hmf, 'Some things maybe better left unsaid, but other things are better off heard.' Think about it Pashmina. Isn't it kind of odd that a worthy opponent, or in this case, some worthy opponents, enter a code against the champs which they don't like and now they wanna end the match on a count of a DQ?"

"Well, you can't really blame them for being upset."

"I can." Jam returns to the group and picks up where Dexter left off. "It's sad that a simple modifier scares the world champs into disqualifying someone that **they** challenged. What kind of champion DQs someone that they challenge?"

"Jam, you're making things worse." said Pashmina.

"No my dear, Jam's making since."

Noah walked over to the group and continued. "Rage and Emi could've just awarded you two as the winners of the doubles's tournament, but they instead challenge you to the title. Now sure, this modifier is new to us, even to myself, but that doesn't give you the right to just disqualiy someone because of one mistake you make." Pashmina was silent, deep in thought. "You're right Dexter, title holders can't just decide to end a match based on a modifier and call it cheating, that's just being a poor sport."

"Pashmina, let's just go." Dexter said taking his partner's paw. "If the title holders wanna call the match like this and call it cheating because of a mod, then it's not worth dancing to."

Pashmina finally understood. "Yeah, let's go."

"I can't believe how insulted I am. All this over a mod, some champs you guys are... and to think, this was such a nice day to dance too."

As Dexter and Pashmina left, The crowd started to boo. But not at them, no, this was towards Rage, Emi and Kit-n-Kat. "I guess it's over then." said Cappy.

"I guess so." said Maxwell and the hams started to leave.

"Man I though I was bad, but the champs are total jerks." said Sparkle.

"Yup, dignity smacked them across the face today." said Boss.

"They lost a lot of face in this tournament." said Jam.

"Wait 'til the press hears about this one." said Stan. "I hope the dancing committee hears about this and strips them of their titles."

"Well, looks like you and your crew get some face back after all, Noah." said Hamtaro.

"Looks like." said Noah.

"I can't believe ze day was wasted on a technicality..." Bijou trailed off.

"I wonder how many people will be at the next Floormaster's Ball after this stunt was pulled." said Howdy.

"That'll be a knee slapper of a question." said Pepper.

A lot of hams looked at Pepper oddly, including Oxnard. "Pepper, you really need to use better grammar while in the city. You can't use that Sooner's talk everywhere you go." said Maxwell.

"That's Oxnard's Pepper for you." Sandy said and shrugged.


	28. thoughts of wisdom and awards

Man, this one's been full of amazement hasn't it, peeps? Well, on with the show.

The events of the tournament were a bit unsettling. A lot of hamsters were appauled of the result of the doubles championship. It has been two days since the event:

"Hmm... Re has told me to stand guard here. Repentence is approaching towards me as she told me." Jam said as he stood on a tree branch. _I wonder whom those souls may be..._

Meanwhile inside the clubhouse, the hams had all shown up and are on the floor. "Hey you guys, these new songs sound pretty cool." said Hamtaro.

"Yeah, they're fun to cut a rug to." added Oxnard.

"It's still such a shame about what happened two days ago, you and Pashmina got totally ripped out of your shot." said Tango.

"Don't remind me." said Dexter and Pashmina.

"Well I'll say this," said Stan. "I'll be happy to let them have it if they showed up here."

"You said it." said Howdy. "What they did was uncalled for."

"The plus side of that is that a lot of people know those cowards are a couple of cheats."

"I'm amazed that the Comets came to Jam's aide, especially Noah." said Cappy.

"That's true." said Boss. "Despite their intimidating styles, they really aren't so bad... as far as troublemakers go."

"I was thinking more like antiheroes." said Maxwell.

"Regardless, Dexter and Pashmina were unfairly judged during their match." said Stan.

"It's interesting to see Pashmina take this so calmly." said Tango.

"Well, Pashmina's not the type to hold grudges, Tango." said Bijou.

"Still, I'd be upset if it were to happen to me."

"Tango, don't feed gasoline to a fire." said Roll. "If anyone should be doing that, it's me."

Back to outside, Jam still stood sentry in wait for what his premise told him. _Hmm, the day is good. Hopefully those Re mentioned will--_ Jam's thought were cut off by three familiar frames and two new ones. _So Re has brought them to me huh? I wonder what the gods have planned with them..._

"Kit-n-Kat, do you have any idea where they may be?" asked Emi.

"Actually, I was just following you." Kit-n-Kat said.

"Just great, we're lost."

"Not entirely, look up you two." said Rage.

Emi and Kit-n-Kat looked to where Rage had pointed to, which was directly at Jam. _Well I'll be... it's Jam._ thought Kit-n-Kat.

"I was expecting you to show up, as I was waiting for you since sunrise." Jam said to them.

"That's really kind of you, going out of your way and all." said Emi.

"Not really. So I take it those suits are from the dancing committee... which means some punishments have been overgone."

"Enough monologues, just take us to the rest of the hams." said Kit-n-Kat. "We have business to attend to."

"Well then, I better bid thee good day." and off Jam leaped behind the tree.

"Wait, hold up!" Rage yelled.

"Too late, he's gone." said Emi.

"Thanks a lot, Kit. Now we won't find his friends because of you."

"Tch, he's just toying with us. Relax already, I've got everything under control." said Kit-n-Kat.

"No, you had everything under control. Now I'm taking charge of this here search and you take a chill pill."

"Fine, lead the way 'cap-i-tan' while I follow you."

"You should be lucky that you weren't stripped like Emi and I were." and off those five walked.

_So, the doubles champs were stripped huh? Dexter will be pleased with this news._ thought Jam. The Ra's Hamster swung his blade and in a ring of flames, teleported to the clubhouse.

Meanwhile, the hams were hitting the floor. "Pashmina, come on and get on the floor, you'll feel better." said Roll.

"No thanks, maybe later." Pashmina answered.

"But you can't keep this up all day, you were like this yesterday."

"Roll, leave Pashy be. In ripe time, she will return to the floor after her time of reflection." said Jam.

"So where did you go?" asked Dexter.

"I enjoyed the fresh air. Also, I ran into the 'champs' outside. They're looking for this place at this moment and they're accompanied by two members of the dancing committee."

"So what?"

"Well, Stan's premise was correct, Rage and Emi were stripped. Kit-n-Kat holds her title still however."

"Good, those two cheats deserved to be stripped." said Stan.

Pashmina perked her head up. "They deserve more than being stripped if you ask me. I say we find em and let those rats have some just desserts." said Tango.

"Tango, we will not assault them." said Jam.

"Hmf, I'm for Tango's idea, let's go pummel those cheats." said Howdy.

"Yeah, they needs to be taught a lesson." said Sandy.

"**They shall not be harmed...**" said Jam. "But I will need your aide, Boss."

"Let's go." said Boss. "You come to, Panda. Your cleverness will be needed for this plan."

"Sure, let's do it." said Panda. And together with Boss, they and Jam left throught the evacuation tunnels.

Outside, the three champs and committee members sat under a tree. "Okay, let's just go. It's obvious we'll never find them." said Emi.

"No way, we're going to look further. Jam couldn't have gone far, I'm sure of it." said Rage.

"Can I lead again?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"No." answered the two members of the committee.

"They're right, you've done enough, Kit." said Rage.

"Funny, I don't think she's done enough." Boss walks out from behind a rock.

"Thank god. Hey, do you know where to find Dexter and Pashmina?" asked Emi.

"They're at my place." Boss answered. "But why should I help you out?"

"Because you won't get your award if you don't." answered Rage.

"After the way you and your friend reacted during your match, that's not something that'll hurt without being in my possession. But you three should be ashamed of yourselves, especially you former world champs. You did a lot more damage than you thought. Believe me, you'll pay a high price... or at least you would, but Jam made me promise not to harm you."

"Not to be rude or anything, but are we gonna go there now?" asked Kit-n-Kat.

"Fine, but you better keep up." and off Boss ran.

The committee hams, Rage, Emi and Kit-n-Kat ran after Boss. Boss turned so he ran behind a tree and when his followers did the same, they fell into a hole. "Hey Thaddeous, Monroe, are you two all right?" Rage asked.

"I'm fine." Thaddeous answered. "How are you, Monroe?"

"Other than having a stinging pride, I'm okay." Monroe answered.

"Come on you guys, or you'll never find it." they heard Boss call to them.

The five hamsters got out of there hole and ran on. "Emi, something tells me that that hole was no accident." Rage said.

"Of course not, it was a trap." Kit-n-Kat cleared up. "They're toying with us."

"Well let's not fall into another one."

Not too long after that was said, so they fell into a trap. Only this one had a slide and the five slid all the way down and landing in a nice little pile. "I'm getting too old for this." said Thaddeous.

"Same here, Thadd." agreed Monroe.

"That's a bunch of poo." The five hamsters looked up to see Panda. "Even Aunt Viv is older than you two and she has a lot of energy. By the way, I hope you like my slide, I built it myself. Now shake off the dust and come on, you're almost there."

Panda led the five into the tunnels leading to the clubhouse. When Rage and the rest of his party made it to the door, they were worn out. "Man, I'm beat. This job of running around isn't for bit-timers like us." said Monroe.

"And my wife says I don't exercise..." said Thaddeous.

Once all five of them caught their breath, Monroe opened the door and Jam was there to greet them. "Welcome to this serene chamber of the clubhouse."

"Yes, thank you young man." said Monroe as he and Thaddeous passed him by.

"Hey, what is that on your head?" asked Emi. "The round thing I mean..."

"Your final test." Jam answered. "The Overseer's Eye sees all, no one can escape its sight. It shall determine your fate."

Then four step arrows appeared around Jam, making a field looking like one side of a DDR dance floor. "To enter, yo must pass this final test. Stepp along the four arrows accordingly as the eye watches you."

"Really?" asked Emi. "And then I can enter?"

"That's it."

"Okay, I guess I can do that."

"Remember, if you move before the eye can see you, you have failed the test, so make it count... as you only have one shot at this."

"O-kay, that's going to be tricky."

"Good luck. And remember to lead with your left foot each time."

Emi stepped right in front of Jam, on the down arrow. _Okay, where do we do from here..._ Emi thought. She wanted to go left, but took her move back and accidently move backward. This caused her to teleport and land on the up arrow. The eye rolled over backwards to look at her. _Freaky..._ Emi moved to the right arrow and the eye followed her. The eye blinked, then showed the number "3". "Hmm, I guess I have three more moves." Emi stepped backward, being teleported and landing on the left arrow. The eye rolled over backwards, blinked, then showed the number "2". Emi moved to the down arrow, the eye follwed her and blinked one last time. Emi moved backwards, being teleported and landing in the up arrow. Flames surrounded her and the flames in front of her opened like a door. "You may pass." said an odd voice."

"Cool, I made it." said Emi as she stepped forward.

The eye returned to it original position. The hams made way for Emi at the table and she sat down. Tango switched the music to Up, Down, Left, Right. "With a new journeyman, a new test. Step forward whoever wishes to go next." said Jam.

"I don't buy it, not one bit." said Kit-n-Kat.

"So what? These are rules, there isn't much choice." said Rage.

"Whatever." Kit-n-Kat rolled her eyes and stepped forward. Instantly, she was flung into the tunnel.

"Failure before beginning, so sad." said Jam. "I told you to lead with your left foot. Rage, whenever you're ready..."

Rage led himself properly onto the arrow, then moved to the left arrow. The eye turned to follow him. _Hmm, something's up with that eye._ he thought. Rage then looked into the eye carefully and noticed something... a left arrow. _No way..._ Rage moved left to the up arrow and the eye followed. _This eye is telling me exactly how to step. The key is in this moving eye... I wonder if Emi saw this on her "journey" through..._ Rage moved backward, being teleported to the down arrow... the eye rolled over to see him, then blinked. _Now it says the number "8", I guess that's how many moves I have left._ Rage continued to look into the eye for his guidance and on the final step... "You may pass." and Rage was through.

"Now that your passage is over with, what's the deal?" asked Boss.

"That'll be explained in a moment," said Monroe, "but first, introduction. I'm Monroe, and this is my collegue Thaddeous. We are from the dancing committee."

"Good day to you all." Thaddeous greeted.

Monroe continued. "Now, we're here to present the last of the awards. First off Boss, I would like to congradulate you on your prowess. Very good show." Monroe gave Boss his medal.

Boss put his bronze around his neck. "Not bad for an unknown's first shot, huh?"

"Very nice."

Thaddeous took over. "Now for our others. You will not believe the amount of mailed complaints that we had from the past event. All of them flooded our desk, and after watching the event unfold, Rage and Emi were summoned by us."

"So why are they here now?" asked Stan.

"On official business."

"Well, I hope you're happy with yourselves, you did a lot of damage you know. We don't take to kindly to cheats here, so you really got a lot of nerve showing up after the disgrace from the end of the tournament. You should rot in hell for the publicity stunt you pulled, rot and decay I say!"

"Young man, calm yourself."

"It's all right, Thaddeous. Stan has a right to do this to us, it's okay." said Rage.

"Does anyone else have any pent up anger to get off their chest?" asked Emi.

"I'm just disappointed at you two." said Dexter. "I expected you to handle this in a much better way than how those past events were. If I'd have known you be a couple of cake boys on such a powerful mod, I'd have just turned it off. You should both be more than ashamed of yourselves."

This countinued for a while... "Well, is there anymore frustration left in anyone?" asked Rage.

"Pashmina, go ahead say your piece," said Sandy, "this did affect you as much as it did Dexter, y'know."

"No, I'm fine." Pasmina answered softly.

"She's taking this pretty well." said Emi.

"It's not in her nature to hold grudges from stuff like this. Not like the rest of us, but it would be good to tell them how hurt you are, Pashmiina." said Roll.

"I don't have anything to say." said Pashmina, softly again.

Emi just shrugged. "Can I come in now, or am I still forbidden?" Kit-n-Kat called from the tunnels.

"Come on in, you should've been in here already." Boss replied.

Kit-n-Kat walked in and took a seat at the table. "I don't understand how Pashmina seems content about this matter. She should be somewhat on a level to talk on how she feels."

"Where the body doesn't speak, the mind always talks a storm."

"Who said that?"

"That was just Snoozer." Jam explained. "He's one of those hams of few words, mainly because he's asleep all the time in his sock. But he does have a point, Pashy won't say a word, but her mind will tell her tale."

"Brains don't talk, Jam." said Hamtaro. "They think. How can a mind be heard?"

"You forget, the eye knows all."

"I... don't understand." said Rage.

"Watch and learn."

Jam placed the Overseer's Eye on Pashmina's head. "Please take this off of my head." said Pashmina.

"This eye doesn't work that way, Pashy." said Jam. "Your mind holds that eye in place, so now it is time. Regardless of what you don't want to say, you will be heard."

"I told you, I don't have anything to say." said Pashmina.

_Of course you don't, you're too much of a nice girl to speak, so shut up and let me talk for you._

Everyone was shocked to hear Pashmina's mind respond like that. "A mind in such anger and pain, tell us now what you need to think." said Jam.

"Don't you mean 'need to say.' Jam?" asked Hamtaro.

_Figures, you're always scatter-brained aren't you... I used to think if you did that on purpose, but now I know you're just plain naive._ Pashmina's mind responded.

"Hey!"

_Now hush like my sugar-coated self here is doing and maybe you'll learn something._ Then a brief pause... _You know, I was really skeptical about entering this tournament with Dexter, but I decided to do it anyway. As a result, I built up a lot of confidence. Now two days ago before this last tournament began, I had a bit of worries, worries which a good lay was able to fix. You know, I kinda like doing doggy-_

"Let's stay on subject here please..." said Dexter.

_You're right Dexter, but you really shouldn't be embarrassed, you're a big boy. Anyway... You two, Rage and Emi... if I knew you'd have decided to take the coward's way out--And don't say you didn't, because you did. If i knew you wre gonna pull that, I probably wouldn't have worried for half the night. Do you see what you've done to me? I haven't stepped foot on that machine since this whole incident. Sure I seem content, but that's because my body's too friggin nice._

_I'm not as kind, however, and you two need... no, needed to be slapped for such a disgrace. Spirit of Competition, yeah right. You two need to be stripped and suspended._

"Well, actually we have been stripped." said Emi.

_Good, but that's not all that needs to happen to you, you need a little more than just that "slap-on-the-paw" punishment. If you were an athlete in a sporting event like Terrell Owens, you'd have to pay a fine._

"Who's Terrell Owens?" asked Oxnard.

_He plays footbal for the Philidelphia Eagles._

"Ah football..." said Jam.

_Not only is my pride hurt, but so is my will to dance, I probably won't even step foot on another floor again because of you two. So take a good look at the damage you have done, I wanna make sure you have nightmares... Now you've been chewed out by the rest of the hams, except for Jam, but they left out something that I will include. All the training we went through, all the studying of the floors we did, all the songs we stepped so hard and busted our asses to get down to a science, all of that just to get a dishonorable disqualification? Thoughts cannot express how much you will pay, let alone words... Hamtaro._

"Thanks." said Hamtaro.

_And now for you. You whining, crying, comlaining, pampered little snot-nosed brat. You of all people need to be slapped the hardest._

_I Thought I would ever never see a champion so undignified like you. Even Penelope has more championship sense than you and the Comet Crew wanted to recruit her. And what is the deal with your constant grudging with Jam? You really don't get it at all when it comes to him, but I will let him explain himself to you. Not because of taking it from him, no. Because I as a brain can't do Jam any justice._

Everyone but the mentioned fell backwards out of their chairs. _Ah, what a clever mind she is._ Jam thought.

_Now that I'm done thinking about chewing you out, maybe my body will finally speak to you._

"Well I must say, you're not only stron minded, but you also are strong in mind." said Maxwell.

"Thanks." said Pashmina. "I think my brain summed it up for me. Jam, it's your turn."

"I thought of an old proverb, but I forgot how it went. Therefore, I have nothing to say." Jam said.

"Hey you guys, can we dance now?" asked Tango. "I'm tired of being the DDR DJ."

"There's still business that needs to be taken care of." Jam reminded Tango.

"That is true." said Rage. "Dexter, Pashmina, these world titles are yours."

Rage and Emi handed their world titles to Dexter and Pashmina. Dexter took his, but Pashmina was a bit reluctant. "I... oh forget my doubts. Thanks for doing the right thing." she said.

"Now that the titles are taken care of, there's only one last bit of business to deal with now." said Thaddeous. "Kit-n-Kat..."

"Yes?" Kit-n-Kat acknowledged the committeeham.

"You owe Jam an apology."

"What!"

"Your unacceptable actions against Jam were also taken into consideration." Monroe explained. "And I believe an apology from you to him is much better than you being stripped."

"Yeah, cough it up you stubborn lil brat." said Sparkle.

"It **is** the least you could do since you held those uncalled for grudges and spite for him." said Bijou.

"You must be kidding...!" Kit-n-Kat roared.

"Sheesh Kit, just swallow your pride and apologize." Emi tried to reason with the champion. "Besides, it's not gonna kill you."

"You see, there's a problem with that, I'm not sorry."

"Kit-n-Kat..."

"Quit scolding her, Emi." said Jam. "If she doesn't want to, don't make her."

"Like it goes: 'You can lead a mule to water, but you can't make it drink.' Zu... zu... zu..." Trademark Snoozer says his piece.

"Right idea, wrong proverb. The correct proverb is: 'In every heard of mules, there's always one stubborn ass.' But at least you meant well." said Jam. The Ra's Hamster walked away from the table and started stretching. "You see, 'A stubborn ass, is the most likely of the mules to be left behind by the herd. Not because the ass has different ideal from the rest, but because that ass is intolerable.' 'Those who are right in mind are often stubborn in body, which leads to their demise.' So let her be stubborn, because 'Even the most stubborn of asses will get theirs in the end.'"

Sorry to leave you hanging right here, but I'm saving it for the next part, which of course will be the end of this story. Until the last chapter everyone...


	29. save the last dance

And now, after so long... the last chapter. All of the songs here will be taken from the Mario Mix of DDR. Keep in mind that some of the things that happen here may or may not actually happen in the game. Well enjoy and stay reading, because it's not over until it says "complete".

"You... you... no good dirty little bastard. How dare you mock me!" Kit-n-Kat wasn't too pleased at what Jam had to say.

"Now I wasn't mocking you," said Jam, "but you are ironically acting some of those traits in some of those quotes though Kit-n-Kat."

"Quit playing games with me."

"I'm not playing any games with you, except the games you keep making and I keep winning."

"Quit messing with my head!"

Jam shook his head and shrugged. "Does she always have tantrums like this? If so, than that's just sad... even for a world champion."

"What's Jam doing?" Hamtaro whispered.

"Psyching Kit-n-Kat out." Roll whispered back. "Incredibly, it's working."

"One thing about Jam, he can get you to the essence of your mind." Tango whispered.

"I've had enough of you, Jam. It's time someone put you in your place." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Kit-n-Kat." Thaddeous was now irate.

Monroe held his arm out in front of his collegue. "Just watch." he told Thaddeous.

Jam chuckles. "Is that so? Well I guess I'm due for it, now aren't I?" he nonchalantly asked.

"You're darn tooting."

"Well, there's only one person that's put me in my place and he's the only one that ever will. But if you're so confident that you can put me in my place-"

"Look here, I don't want you to monologue about your 'glory days', okay? I'm the champ here, not you!"

"So why do you see me as a threat to your title?"

"You're no threat, you're a joke."

"My teacher doesn't think that way."

"Well you're a joke, and your teacher is even more of a joke than you are."

Jam simply removed his pack, revealing the the sunspot to the hams. "Tango, how do you feel of the world champion?" he asked.

"I feel she's really stuck up and pampered." Tango answered.

"Of course you do, who else feels this way?"

The other hams, even Thaddeous and Monroe, raised their paw into the air, as did the former tag champs. "Rage, Emi, what's the deal?" Kit-n-Kat questioned.

"You're out of line." Rage said. "This isn't the behavior of a champion."

"Jam, the only way Kit-n-Kat will see the error of her ways is if she's defeated on the floor." said Emi.

"See, that's where you're wrong." Jam began. "She isn't of errors, she's just flawed. And even though what you say is true Emi, she isn't worth the trouble."

"But you have to avenge yout teacher, Jam." Boss said. "She just made your teacher and you lose face, don't tell me you're just gonna let it slide."

"Boss, you have a lot to learn." Jam told him. "Before I react on this matter, I will eat. This will help me analyze the events of the current."

"But-"

"Remember that last proverb, Boss. Thaddeous, Monroe, leave the ass with her title. Let her relish it, for she will see the message of the wisehams."

Jam pulled a bowl of cooked brown rice from his pack, went over to the slide, sat and ate. "He's taking this quite calmly." said Emi.

"That's Jam for you, he's one of those passive-aggressive types I guess." said Boss.

"You guess?"

"Yup, even after all of this time, I still can't figure Jam out."

After his rice was finished, Jam stood up and put the bowl into his pack and continued to stretch. "Tango, Piroli please." Jam requested.

"You got it, Jam." said Tango and the song was played.

As the song played, Jam took off his headset, closed his eyes and started to gig while the music played. "What's he doing?" asked Rage.

"What he does best," answered Pasmina, "remaining dynamic."

_Hmm... remaining Dynamic..._ thought Kit-n-Kat.

"It looks like he's clearing his mind of all distractions." said Emi.

"That does more to Jam than you think, honey." said Pashmina.

Once the song was over, Jam put the headset back on and opened his eyes. He then shook himself off and headed over to Kit-n-Kat. "Now come and put me in my place."

"With pleasure."

Jam followed Kit-n-Kat to the machine. Panda dusted off the arows and once cleaned, Kit-n-Kat and Jam took to the floor. "Panda my good man, set the game to Battle Mode." said Jam.

"You got it." obliged Panda and the battle was on.

"Man finally, I've been waiting for a face-off this big." said Stan.

"Now we'll get to see what this hamster's dancing skills are truly about." said Rage.

"Okay, the Battle Mode is all set up, Jam. Teach us well." Panda said.

"Thanks." said Jam.

"Let's kick this up a notch, Jam." said Kit-n-Kat.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Should you win against me, my title, and a sincere apolgy are yours." Kit-n-Kat explained.

"Good. She's finally putting up her dukes." said Boss.

Kit-n-Kat continued. "But when I defeat you, you are to give your word to never hit these floors again, **ever!**"

"Whoa, that's a bit steep, isn't it?' asked Sandy.

"I'll do it..." said Jam.

"Say what!" the hams shouted.

"but on one condition." Jam continued.

"Name it." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Monroe picks the songs."

"No problem. Come on Monroe, choose this hamster's fate."

Monroe stepped up to the plate, "Well now, let's see here." he looked through the selection. "Player's Best, Player's Worst, Player's Favorites 1-4, Player's Favorites 5-8, ah here we go, Fun & Frustration."

Once Monroe picked the theme, the game started. The first part of this theme was Where's the Exit?. As the song began, the battlers quickly got into the beat. "I like how this one sounds, maybe we should try it out sometime, Penelope." said Cappy.

"Okwee." Penelope said and nooded.

The first bridge came out and Kit-n-Kat got a few greats, but when the same steps repeated, she timed them perfectly. "This isn't so hard." she said.

"I have more perfect steps than you." Jam teased.

"Shut up."

The halfway point in the song, had Monroe tapping his foot. "This is quite the catchy beat." he said.

"Makes me feel like shakin' my own booty." said Thaddeous.

"Just don't get to caught up in the music that you tire yourself out."

The last third of the song had a bit of tapping of the same step, which caused a good on Jam's behalf. "Haha, you messed up." said Kit-n-Kat.

"_Poor gal, I'm saving my strength._ Oh well, I'll make it up later." Jam said.

"We'll see."

The first song came to a close, and the next song, Destruction Dance, started up. When the song started out, it was pretty paced. "This is one of my favorite songs." said Howdy.

"What's with the bombs over the arrows?" asked Rage.

"Bombs?"

As the steps started in, the observers noticed them get stepped on, then a fireball came up as one of the steps. _A fireball..._ thought Kit-n-Kat. feeling a bit reluctant, she stepped on it anyway. "I get it now, the fireball could light the bombs." said Emi.

"Whoa, did I just see that right, or did those fireballs move to the other player's screen?" asked Stan.

"Hoo wee, that's interesting." said Pepper.

"See, there it went again."

"Nice touch." said Rage.

"Not only do you have to step, but also volley a fireball to your screen on your opponent's." added Maxwell.

"Not to mention keep your bombs from seeing that fireball."

Halfway through and coming up on a 400 combo, Kit-n-Kat missed the fireball and the bomb blew up, taking a nice chunk of her guage. "Yeah, you don't wanna do that often, honey." said Jam.

"Ah man. What a shame, now I can't make up that combo." said Kit-n-Kat, volleying her fireball to Jam's side of the screen.

"Man, when those bombs blow up, they do damage." said Howdy.

"At least her bomb was replaced." said Dexter.

The hams watched Jam and Kit-n-Kat finish their second song. And on the last step, the fireball was gone. Next up was Step by Step. "So, not as easy as you thought, huh?" asked Jam.

"I'll admit it, I was caught off guard." answered Kit-n-Kat.

"I don't like this song, it's slow." said Bijou.

"I don't like the mines." said Tango.

"There are mines here too!" Emi cried out.

Kit-n-Kat heard that. _Mines huh? I better take heed on this song._ she thought.

As the song started up, Kit-n-Kat found the beat soothing, too bad the skips in this song were loathed by her. "So what do you think of this one?" asked Jam.

"Nice song, mean step arrows." Kit-n-Kat answered. "Too many skips so far."

"Eh..."

Halfway through the song and the two were finally enjoying it. No mines were stepped on by either dancer too. "I love this bridge." said Cappy as he hummed along.

"It is nice to slow dance to." Emi said in agreement.

"Yeah." Rage agreed.

The song was coming to a close and when it did, Jam wiped his brow, as did Kit-n-Kat. "Well I'm glad that's over." said Kit-n-Kat.

"That song can be a pain at times from what I've seen." said Jam.

The fourth song was Garden Boogie and with it's playing, the mood of the clubhouse started to get pleasant. Jam and Kit-n-Kat actually relaxed as they played this song. _I heard this is a quick song._ thought Jam.

"I like this song." said Kit-n-Kat.

"It is nice, isn't it?" asked Jam.

"Look. Just cause we agree on how much this song is nice to step to, that still doesn't change anything."

"Obviously."

The fourth song was in and gone quickly, blessing both of them with high combos. Song number five was Cabin Fever. When this song began, there was a good pause and then the steps came in. during the steps a sunflower step came in and once it was stepped on, the arrows turned into sunflower seeds. "Whoa, that was pretty cool." said Hamtaro.

"This song's making me hungry." said Oxnard.

As the song went on, the sunflower steps that turned the arrows into seeds broke up both player's combos. At the end of the song, both battlers did a marginal routine. "That one, I don't like." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Eh, I need to work on it." said Jam.

Song number six was Blooper Bop and just by hearing the tempo of this song, Kit-n-Kat showed her disdain. "Ew, squids..." she said as she stepped on one.

"This is interesting--Whoa, tentacle." Jam was cut off.

"Well that's one nasty bit of Ika." said Rage.

"Yeah." said Bijou.

"Okay, I don't mind the squids, but the tentacles--Oh crap, two showed up." Sparkle said.

"This is one aquatic number I guess." said Rage.

"Why do I have a sudden urge for calamari?" asked Howdy.

"Because it's showing up on the routine." answered Dexter.

The dancers danced on and some of those tentacles snuck up on them, damaging their respective guages. "Cheap ass cuttlefish." said Jam.

"That's squid." Kit-n-Kat corrected.

"Same friggin' family."

"Someone doesn't like squid..."

"I prefer octopus."

Jam took some nasty hits from the Blooper's tentacles, as did Kit-n-Kat and both were happy when this song was over. "You almost fell during that. Those tentacles didn't scare you, did they?" teased Kit-n-Kat.

"Look who's talking Ms. 'Ew, squid!' You didn't do any better anyway."

"Talk later, the next song is starting up."

Song number seven was Frozen Pipes, and this one is a real trickster. "Hey Stan, have you played this song before?" asked Sparkle.

"I don't do hillbilly music." Stan answered.

Kit-n-Kat didn't have much trouble with her steps... until the Cheep Cheeps started to alter their routine. "What the hell?" Kit-n-Kat was shocked. "Stupid fish moved my arrow."

"Eh." Jam said as the tricky Cheep Cheeps didn't stir him too much.

"Yeah, just by looking at it, I know I'd be mad if I played it." said Sparkle.

"This song definitely fits the Frustration part of the theme." said Rage.

"I know Kit-n-Kat is really mad right about now." said Emi.

And she was. "Quit moving the steps you lousy flounders." Kit-n-Kat was ready to scream.

Jam just laughed. "Someone doesn't like fish..." he said as he snickered.

"Shut up. The mines are enough to worry about and--Ah crap."

Kit-n-Kat not only missed the step, thanks to a Cheep Cheep, but she also stepped on a mine. "Oh yeah, she's pissed." said Sparkle.

Mercifully, this song came to a close. "Ooh, I hat that song." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Those critters almost got me."

"I hope the next song is the last one, I'm getting tired and angry."

Sadly, it wasn't. Song number eight was Rendezvous on Ice. The took caught a quick breather. "Be careful of the chaos you two." Stan called to them.

"Thanks." said Jam.

"Why did you say that for?" asked Pashmina.

"You'll see. Even though this song sounds nice, it's not a walk in the fun park."

As the song began, the steps were simple, normal steps and a few snowmen. "Oh, those snowmen look cute." said Pepper.

"The snowmen do, but the stalagmites don't." said Oxnard.

"This isn't so bad." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Yeah, well let's see." said Jam...

...and if on the nose, in came the chaos. It started out simple, but then got complex, and finally got so bad that both dancers were left in the danger zone. "Man, this is tough." said Jam.

"No kidding." said Kit-n-Kat.

Once the chaos was over, and two guages in the danger zone, it was smooth sailing from the last third of the song. As the song came to a close, Jam stepped on a stalagmite, breaking his combo. "Oh well, at least I survived the tough part of that song." he said.

"Well, the next song is the last one, so good luck." said Monroe.

And the last song was Bowser's Castle. As the music began, the two shook paws. Once the beat kicked in, the game was on. The steps came in and an odd object appeared as a step. When it was stepped on, it went to the bottom right of the player's screen. "I wonder what that's for..." said Kit-n-Kat.

Another object came in. "Oh cool, they're building something." said Panda.

"Yeah, but what exactly." said Boss.

Kit-n-Kat missed a step, which held another piece, but Jam hit it. When it was placed at the lower right hand side of the screen, it took off and hit Kit-n-Kat's guage, taking a chunk out of it. "Hey!" said Kit-n-Kat.

"So we're building missiles as we step along to take out the other's guage, a nice way to end Battle Mode." said Jam.

Kit-n-Kat soon get her revenge as hers was completed and it took a chunk from Jam's guage.

"Interesting, they're building missiles as they step." said Boss.

"Actually, those look more like rockets." said Panda.

"Here ya go, take this." Kit-n-Kat said as her rocket was launched...

But Jam launched a rocket as well, resulting in both rockets colliding and exploding. "Interesting, the missiles can defend as well." said Jam.

The song was in it's lat quarter and it was starting to get interesting. Jam kept hitting steps, but he also missed some, but made sure to hit the ones with the rocket pieces. Kit-n-Kat missed rocket pieces and ther rocket blew up, taking chunks of her guage away. Jam's rockets also wittled away at her health and when she missed a step, the arrows disappeared from her side of the screen. She had lost. "Crap." she said and walked off the floor.

_My job here is done._ thought Jam. _I win._

"Jam's got the title in the bag now." said Stan.

Kit-n-Kat watched as Jam stepped along, but then... he stopped. His rocket blew up and he just let his guage drain away. Everyone's chin dropped. "Jam, **no!**" cried the hams.

Jam shrugged and stepped off the floor and just like that, the Failed word went right across the screen. "And that's all, folks." he said.

Shock had taken the clubhouse, everyone was stunned from what just happened. You can best believe that a lot of jaws were hanging low as well. "Jam... I can't believe you... W-why? I just wanna know why?" Stan simply stated.

"If you were gonna give up, you could've just did that a long time ago, not at the last minute." said Sparkle.

"Yeah, why did you up and quit anyway?" asked Hamtaro.

The other hams agreed in question. "I didn't quit, I chose to stop." Jam answered. "I had this planned all along, planning to stop. However, as I knew, you never saw it coming."

"Nicely played, Jam." said Snoozer. "Heat would be proud of the noble action of his only student..." He then turned over in his sock.

Kit-n-Kat dropped on all fours. "You... were trained... by... the legendary Heat?" Tears began to pour from her eyes. "I can't believe it, I insulted one of the greatest floormasters in history..." Kit-n-Kat began to cry.

"I knew it all along." said Monroe.

"It makes sense now." said Rage. "The calm and collected nature, the carefree yet into-the-zone attitude, the knowhow on Nightmare Mode and about the mines. He learned all of this from Heat."

"You're quite the perceptive hamster, Rage." said Jam, then thought, _However, those mode I learned on my own, not by Heat._

"So basically, despite what has happened, Kit-n-Kat lost." said Emi.

"Yes." Rage told her. "She lost far before Jam faced her."

"I knew before he died that Heat had an apprentice, we talked much about it." said Monroe. "Though he never mentioned your name to me, he told me that you reminded him of himself. Kit-n-Kat didn't face Jam just know, more like Kit-n-Kat faced Heat's reincarnate."

"Whatever, he still didn't finish the song, so he still lost." said Kit-n-Kat.

"You lost too, Kit-n-Kat." said Emi.

Kit-n-Kat fell to the ground. "Don't get technical all of a sudden."

"Well due to the events at hand," said Thaddeous, "the world championship is hearby up for grabs. Until the next Floormaster's tournament, there will be no singles champion."

"Nice call, but there's still one award left to be dealt out." Said Monroe as he approached Jam. "Jam, this medal was inspired by the late great Heat himself, such an award I thought I'd never live to give out... but I'm glad I was wrong."

"What award might this be?" asked Boss.

"An honorable mention." Monroe answered. "Jam, I award you the title, Sage of the Floor."

Monroe placed the medal around Jam's neck and shook his paw. The other hams applauded. Jam... he just broke into tears. "Even to this very day, Heat still watches over me." Jam said as his tears rivered down his cheeks.

"You deserve that award, Jam. I don't think anyone else could get this award." said Monroe. "Heat would've wanted it this way."

"Jam, you okay?" asked Pashmina.

"Of course, Pashy." Jam answered. "My work here is done."

"As is ours. Let's go everyone, time to leave." said Thaddeous.

Thaddeous, Monroe and the formers champs walked out the door. Kit-n-Kat was the last of them to leave, but before she closed the door behind her, she turned around. "When next we meet, Jam. Until then, go on and continue to dance." she said.

"See ya." said Jam.

"Yeah, see ya." and out the door Kit-n-Kat went.

At the end of the day, the ham hams began their goodbyes. "It was good seeing you again, Jam." said Hamtaro.

"Yeah, we owe you a lot." said Boss.

"No you don't, but you do need to improve, all of you." said Jam. "There will always be a floor to dance on."

"You'll always have a place here in the clubhouse, Jam. Don't be a stranger."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Come visit my farm sometime during your travels, I'll show you around." said Pepper.

"Deal."

"Well, thanks for the gifts, Jam. I may never take off this hat." said Cappy.

"Just make sure you keep it, Capster."

"Well, let's get going, the world keep turning and we must keep going."

"Good bye everyone, I hope we meet again." said Tango.

"Bye-q!" cried Roll.

"See ya!" the ham hams called to them.

"See ya!" Jam called. And just like that, the three Ra's Hamsters were gone, and not too soon after, the other hams left the clubhouse.

In a cemetary on a clear day at sunset, all was peaceful. The only steps that could be heard were the steps coming from one single hamster. He suddenly stopped at a grave on top of a hill. "Well my friend, here I am again to visit you." Jam wiped a tear from his eye. "I know I'm days late, but I'm here. I just... I just..." Tears ran from his eyes. "Wanted to give you my thanks, for teaching and being patient with me. I owe you so much, that you'll never know. As you can see, I'm a sage on these here floors... and it's because of your faith i me that I made it this far." Jam removed the medal he got and placed it around the tombstone. "This is yours, Heat. And just like you want me too... I'll never stop dancing!"

Jam switched his headseat to Piroli. Even as the tears swelled in his eyes and poured from his cheeks, he stood there. _Thank you my master, me hero... my ally._ With that, Jam started the music and began to respectfully dance on his teacher's grave. And as he danced, the song of Piroli was heard all throughout the graveyard.


End file.
